AUSTRALIA — At the same time that experts are petitioning the latest under development Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V) to remove BDSM behavior as a paraphilia comes a new survey with good things to say about the kinky ties that bind. According to public health researchers who studied the sex lives of 20,000 Australians, although a mere 2-percent of them regularly indulge in a bit of hardcore slap and tickle of the BDSM type, they are no more likely to by unhappy or dysfunctional than so-called “normal” sex enthusiasts.

In fact, they might even be happier and better adjusted.

“Our findings support the idea that bondage and discipline and sadomasochism (BDSM) is simply a sexual interest or subculture attractive to a minority,” associate professor Juliet Richters of the University of NSW and her team of researchers explain in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Among the findings was an increased rate of interest in fetish and role-play activities among those who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual – and an increased interest in sexual exploration in general among those who enjoy not just the feathers but the whole chicken, so to speak.

Lest anyone accuse the kinky of being sexually short-changed or in need of intimidation in order to satisfy their desires, Richters and associates insist otherwise, observing that “they were no more likely to have been coerced into sexual activity and were not significantly more likely to be unhappy or anxious.”

Men who indulge in their shadowy sensual interests actually may be happier than more vanilla men, in fact, given that their scores for psychological distress were markedly lower. Researchers think the number may reveal that pursuing desires that feel natural may encourage a feeling of satisfaction and contentedness.

Alas for science, it has often shared the prejudices of the less daring by declaring anything requiring a French maid’s costume or a strap of leather to be a sign of mental instability.

As Richters observes, “People with these sexual interests have long been seen by medicine and the law as, at best, damaged and in need of therapy and, at worst, dangerous and in need of legal regulation.

Richters and her associates hope that their research will help dispel some of the myths and misconceptions surrounding those who enjoy BDSM activity, including the idea that they “need particularly strong stimuli, such as being beaten or tied up to become aroused.”