[LimeNLemonade]

Likewise, I don’t think it can be done. There’s a large body of research to suggest that sexuality is a combination of genetics, hormone exposure in utero, and the interaction of other environmental/biological factors.

The practice of sexual conversion therapy, through classical and operant conditioning concepts, hasn’t been successful. Nausea-inducing drugs, electric shocks, and even castration, have been explored (i.e. awful people have done awful things) without success. So, I don’t think applying similar concepts in a BDSM setting would have much effect.

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I do think that through BDSM you could discover an alternative sexuality. Some of us grow up in an environment where heterosexuality is seen as the only option. In some environments, LGBTQ+ sexualities may never even be acknowledged, or the rhetoric we hear against those groups is so negative that it promotes a sense of “otherness”, and so we don’t believe we might belong to those groups.

Or perhaps you might have a pre-existing belief such as “same sex intercourse is wrong” or “cum is disgusting” and through BDSM experience you could learn that the reality is different. Prejudiced beliefs being challenged through exposure to new experiences.

But I don’t think this can be forced. It’s more like you can only grow to your full height potential if you are given enough nutrients to do so. Some people may lack the environment, experiences, and self-awareness to realise they may not be straight. BDSM could possibly change this.

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I also believe that when you give yourself to someone, you should try to give yourself wholly. That BDSM should be about fully expressing yourself with your partner and enjoying all the complicated bits that society often rejects. In most societies, it would arguably be easier to be heterosexual. It would also be easier to be vanilla. But if you are not, then I think BDSM is a safe environment to be yourself and let someone enjoy the most authentic version of you. So, for me personally, conversion in this context goes against what I want BDSM to be.