In November 2025, I watched the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) conference. It was a great experience to connect with sexual health professionals and gain insight into what is currently happening in the field. During one of the sessions, I came across an exciting project: an effort to collect and centralize the academic literature on kink and the kink community into a single, searchable resource. They call it the Kink Literature Database. I was intrigued, so I interviewed the project coordinators: Steve Ratcliff and Stefan Lucke. Strap in – you’ll want to hear about it.
What is it?
THE Kink Literature Database it does exactly what it sounds like: it brings together decades of academic and important community publications on weird topics in one accessible place. We’re talking about BDSM, consensual non-consensualand many more. Similar projects have existed in the past, but this one stands out for a few key reasons: it is open access, it exposes search methods, it seeks to be comprehensive over time, and it is highly searchable. The team has devoted hundreds of hours to making this growing, multidisciplinary body of literature easier to find and use for both researchers, clinicians, educators and the general public. And in a world where paywalls are everywhere, here’s some good news: the database itself is free, and they plan to keep it that way.
Why Was It Created?
The spark for the Kink Literature Database came from a frustration familiar to anyone who spends time in the academic literature: the same names and studies are cited over and over again, while a wealth of other works go quietly unnoticed. Kink research is produced around the world, but without a focused place to find it, much of it remains virtually invisible or hard to find.
Visibility was a key motivation. By pulling this literature into one place, the database makes it easier for researchers, clinicians, and educators to find work they might otherwise never have found.
But the target audience is not just academics. THE twisted community she herself is highly self-reflective and engaged in research. Many community members actively seek out studies about their experiences and want to weigh in on what is being said about them. The database gives the community a single place to encounter this literature, affirming and stigmatizing alike, and engage with it on its own terms.
This community orientation also points to something bigger. Kink spaces have long been at the forefront of discussions about consent, communication, and intentional relationship structures.. There is much in this literature that is worth learning from – even perhaps especially, for people outside the kink community. For sexual health professionals in particular, engaging with this body of work can also support a reassessment of attitudes around bends. If this is something you want to explore more intentionally, SHA Sexual Attitude Reassessment (SAR) Weekends offer a structured group experience for examining your own feelings, values and beliefs about human sexuality and sexual behaviour.
The people behind the project
As is the nature of community projects, it takes a village! However, a few individuals have played a large role in the development and maintenance of this project, and I would be remiss not to highlight them. Plus, their stories are really interesting!
by Steve Ratcliffe The passion for the science of human sexuality and research turns immediately. Already a certified sex therapist before starting the database project, he has a long-term investment in the field. At some point in his career, he noticed a pattern: some confusing research was being heavily cited while other work was being overlooked, so he started a spreadsheet to track it. Sound familiar? The Kink Literature Database was originally planned as his thesis, but he was discouraged from pursuing it because the scope was so ambitious. Watch it now!
Stefan Luke he has lived a few different lives before landing here. Originally an audio engineer, he switched gears after immigrating to the US from Germany, working for over a decade as a database developer while harboring a deep fascination with the field of sexuality. She eventually decided to pursue this interest, expecting to become a clinician at first, but ended up in sexuality-related politics, which she describes as “therapy for society.” He is passionate about the database project because there is still such a “global stigma about sex itself” that he wants to challenge by promoting sexuality research that is rich and representative. He emphasizes that the database helps you “find papers you might not find elsewhere” because they get lost under the noise of big names and journals.
Special Interest Group & Volunteers
THE SSSS Special Interest Group (SIG) on Kink/BDSM also played a key role in the development of the project. SIG Chief Frederick Zall has championed the database, helping to initially organize the effort, build its reach, and sustain its momentum – at great personal investment. If you’ve spent time in academia, you know how rare and valuable it is to keep that conference energy alive when everyone goes home. Finally, several volunteers – both community members and SIG members – have contributed knowledge and time along the way. Steve and Stefan both emphasized that the database would not be where it is today without this volunteer support.
Scope and criteria
The Kink Literature database follows the PRISMA standards for a scoping review (a structured way of determining what is included or excluded based on criteria that they define and apply consistently. Using PRISMA is fairly standard practice for these types of projects).
Limitations and biases
The team behind the Kink Literature Database is refreshingly aware of the project’s limitations and biases. Here’s what they had to say:
Passion and Purpose: The work is rooted in a genuine passion for raising voices and representing the community, meaning there is a positive bias towards affirming research. That said, work that perpetuates stigma against disfiguring communities and practices is still included, as moderators aim to include whatever they can find, both affirming and stigmatizing, that meets the inclusion criteria.
Source range: You may have noticed that the database excludes unpublished literature and romance. The reasoning matters: it’s about ensuring quality and avoiding flooding the database with sources outside of the project’s goals. More than 100 community publications are included, as well as a number of paraprofessional publications. Self-published sources are reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the team, as quality varies widely. Also, although erotic sources have real value, they are beyond the scope of the project.
Worldwide Representation: Ideally, the Kink Literature Database would include kink-related publications from around the world, not just the Global North or English-language sources. In practice, they are limited to what they can check and locate using their search keywords. For example, if a post uses English terminology (like “BDSM”) instead of a translated equivalent, it can be found, but otherwise it’s a challenge. If you read other languages, consider volunteering (see below)!
If you want to know more about the methodology behind the project, you can read more at SSSS website.
Looking ahead
Future Directions
The team is committed to keeping the database up to date, so there is always more work to be done! In addition to adding new editions as they come out, volunteers continue to sort through archives and older texts to determine whether they belong in the Kink Literature database.
Additionally, with the volume and density of content in the database, it can be difficult to find a quick lay of the land on a given distortion-related topic (especially if you’re new to the area and need a quick refresher to better help a client or just get up to speed)! To combat this, the creators plan to develop “recommended reading” sections organized by topic to help readers find their footing!
How can you get involved?
Projects like this thrive on collaboration and community investment. This is a volunteer effort, so please consider volunteering your time and talents:
Projection: Interested in diving deeper into kink literature and want to help? They are always looking for volunteers to help screen articles for inclusion in the database. Contact them by email at kinklitdatabase@gmail.com to get started!
Foreign language support: The group is particularly interested in volunteers with fluency in non-English languages to help promote books, articles and other publications.
Submissions and Keywords: Don’t have time to view, but notice something missing? Feel free to email them (kinklitdatabase@gmail.com) with a post you think fits or a keyword that could cover raw ground.
Use it and say it: Either you use it database for a project or light reading, let them know! Join the database as a viewer to show your support or send them an email. This kind of feedback really matters, especially when you consider how much time and effort went into creating the resource!
Do you want to become an in-demand sexual health professional? Learn more about SHA certification!
