Here’s what we have been up to
These are research projects we are currently working on. Consider participating and/or keep an eye out for updates!
Reading Between the Lines: Language Patterns and the Archives of Sexuality
A psychological text analysis of the Kinsey Institute archives
This research project combines archival research, psychology, and language analysis to examine how sexuality and gender have been represented in historical records. Working with the collections of the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University, we will explore books, magazines, films, audio recordings, and research archives. Archival discovery will be paired with computational text analysis using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software to investigate patterns in language, providing insights into the psychological and cultural dimensions of these materials. By integrating archival exploration with quantitative analysis, the project seeks to advance our understanding of how gender and sexuality have been socially constructed and communicated over time.
Target Sample:
N/A
Project Duration:
May 2026-present
Testing New 2D:4D App
Assessing usability and accuracy of DigitScan, a new measure of digit ratio
Exposure to sex hormones such as testosterone before birth can influence human development. A widely used, non-invasive marker of this exposure is the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D:4D), or the ratio of the index finger’s length to the ring finger’s length. Although commonly used in research, traditional measurement methods (e.g., calipers or lab-based scans) can be inconvenient, costly, and inconsistent. We have developed an app, “DigitScan,” that allows participants to photograph their hands using their own devices. The current project empirically tests the app’s accuracy and usability.
Target Sample:
Adults
Project Duration:
August 2025-present
IRB approval forthcoming (Fall 2026)
Stigmatizing Attitudes Toward Disabled and Neurodivergent BDSMers
A survey of how ableism is perpetuated and which disabilities are targeted most
Feelings of belonging within the kink community has been shown to be an effective means of combating negative stigma. However, this is something that may not be possible for many disabled kinksters due to their marginalized status, putting disabled individuals at a higher risk for harm from the issues that all kinksters face. Disabled kinksters face barriers related to social discrimination, inadequate educational opportunities, and inaccessible locations, as well as infantilization and dehumanization. We examine how widespread these attitudes are within the BDSM community and identify who is responsible for causing harm.
Target Sample:
Adult, USA-based, English-speaking BDSM/kinksters
Project Duration:
January 2024-present
Study design in progress
BDSM on the Margins: Recognizing the Unique Experiences of BIPOC BDSMers
Through virtual interviews, this project seeks to explore how having multiple stigmatized identities influences one’s experience in BDSM.
Only a few studies in psychology have investigated racial inequality and inclusion within the BDSM community, and fewer have used theories of identity centrality and salience to understand identity formation and construction of one’s identity among BIPOC practitioners. Because BDSM practitioners often experience stigma and discrimination in the workplace, medical field, and court system, understanding how the additive strain of visible, stigmatized identities may influence one’s community involvement and self-concept is vital to discussions of intersectionality and privilege. This study explores the intersection of race, queerness, disability, and economic disadvantage as key concerns voiced by BIPOC BDSM community members that contribute to experiences of prejudice, fetishization, and exclusion by White people.
Target Sample:
Individuals who self-identify as both BIPOC and BDSMers
Project Duration:
May 2023-May 2024
Manuscript under review
2D:4D Ratio and Individual Differences Among Dominants and submissives
This fun and innovative study requires individuals to photocopy their hands, which will be used to determine if size really does matter!
Prenatal exposure to androgens such as testosterone (T) influences the second to fourth digit ratio (2D:4D) on human hands. Biologically, males have higher levels of T, thus having a lower 2D:4D ratio, whereas females have lower levels of T and a higher ratio. Research has found that higher levels of T are associated with risk-taking behavior, sensation-seeking, aggression, and dominance. The purpose of the present study is to investigate whether individual differences in the 2D:4D ratio can predict variation in personality, risk-taking behavior, sensation-seeking, and D/s powerplay roles, among a sample of BDSM practitioners. We predict that higher levels of prenatal T (lower 2D:4D ratios) are positively correlated with Dominant roles and will predict individual differences. Specifically, we hypothesize that Dominants will exhibit lower 2D:4D ratios than submissives. We also anticipate that Dominant men/males will exhibit lower 2D:4D ratios than submissive men/males; Dominant women/females will exhibit lower 2D:4D ratios than submissive women/females; and Dominant men will have lower ratios than Dominant women.
Target Sample:
200+ adult, USA-based, English-speaking BDSM power players, specifically self-identified Dominants and submissives
Project Duration:
February 2023-May 2024 (Oberlin College)
Resumed data collection December 2024 (DePauw University) with funding from J. William and Dorothy A. Asher Fund.
Manuscript under review
Stand Out or Fit In?: Exploring the Sexual Self Among Immigrant Adults
This project aims to determine how the immigration experience influences immigrants’ sexual literacy and sexual self beyond adolescence and into adulthood
New immigrant community members are often marginalized, and this research will focus on how such an experience at a young age may have impacted their relationship to sex education and, thus, their perception of sex and relationships. Interview questions inquire about participants’ journey and challenges as immigrants, their exposure to and understanding of sex education, and how their immigrant experiences intertwine with their perceptions and knowledge about sex.
*Undergraduate Student-led Research Project
Target Sample:
Adults who identify as U.S. or Canadian documented resident who have immigrated from outside North America five or more years ago
Project Duration:
March 2024-May 2024
Data analysis underway
A Mixed-Methods Critique of Contemporary BDSM Research
Using PCA and qualitative data, this project critiques previous clinical studies of BDSM and current incompatibilities in how researchers describe the community
BDSM practitioners adopt various identities within the community, often based on the subcultures in which they participate and the power-exchange role they use with partners. Some role identities fall under categories of “Dominant” and “submissive,” but it may also be inaccurate to assume that these role identities are indistinguishable from one another. Study 1 explored how 122 diverse BDSM role identities emulate Dominance and/or submission using statistical reduction analyses. Study 2 asked participants about their perceptions of BDSM research and the issues perpetuated by researchers themselves. Together, both studies call into question researchers’ methods of placing BDSM identities on a unidimensional spectrum despite community members’ explicit disapproval of such practices.
Target Sample:
Adult, USA-based, English-speaking BDSMers
Project Duration:
February 2021- August 2021
Qualitative data analysis underway
The LACE Lab 