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Glossary
Experimentalist
The label for whoever has no preference for one corner, but for the curiosity itself.
What is an experimentalist?
An experimentalist (identical in English) is someone who wants to try almost everything in BDSM at least once, without tying themselves to one role or one preference. The word comes from the result of the BDSM test, where it sits alongside roles like rigger, brat and masochist. An experimentalist therefore recognizes themselves in the curiosity, not in a corner.
| Dutch term | experimentalist, used untranslated; there is no established Dutch word |
| Where the word appears | in the results list of the BDSM test |
| What it is not | a role with a counter-role; there is no counterpart to an experimentalist |
| What it does touch on | openness to new experiences, a measured personality trait |
| Main caveat | the label comes from a questionnaire; there is no research that measures this archetype |
Where the label comes from
From a questionnaire, and not from research. Experimentalist is one of the labels you get a percentage on at an online BDSM test, alongside roles like rigger, brat and masochist. Whoever scores high on it therefore recognizes themselves in the curiosity itself and not in a particular corner.
The short description such a test puts with the label is advertising material from the test site itself, and usually it sits on a page you cannot verify from outside. So I do not quote it. The label is, incidentally, not much more complicated than the word: wanting to experience everything once before you have an opinion about it. What is not there is research behind that label. The result of such a test is a conversation starter, not a diagnosis, which is worked out further on the page about the BDSM test.
Would you rather say what appeals to you without a label rolling out, then the inspiration list on this site is meant for that: tick off per line what makes you curious, and leave the rest. What you tick, we can explore together on a bdsm date.
What is known about that curiosity
Two things, and they stand apart from the test. Wismeijer and van Assen compared, in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 902 BDSM practitioners with 434 control participants. The BDSM group turned out, among other things, more open to new experiences, and the authors conclude that BDSM is better understood as a leisure activity than as an expression of psychopathology. Openness is therefore not a self-image but a measured trait, and it sits higher in this group.
The second thing: unusual preferences rarely come alone. Långström and Seto found in their Swedish population survey that whoever reported one atypical sexual behavior far more often reported another as well. That makes a high score on experimentalist less surprising than it seems: whoever is curious about one thing is usually curious about more.
Neither finding is about this archetype. They describe the group and the pattern, not the label.
Sources
- Psychological characteristics of BDSM practitioners. Wismeijer & van Assen, The Journal of Sexual Medicine 10(8), 1943–1952, 2013. Provides that 902 BDSM participants, against 434 control participants, turned out among other things more open to new experiences, and the conclusion that BDSM is better understood as a leisure activity than as an expression of psychopathology.
- Exhibitionistic and voyeuristic behavior in a Swedish national population survey. Långström & Seto, Archives of Sexual Behavior 35(4), 427–435, 2006. Provides that reporting one atypical sexual behavior was associated with a much greater chance of reporting another.
Related terms
- BDSM test. The questionnaire the word experimentalist comes from, and what the result does and does not mean.
- BDSM. The umbrella all of whose corners an experimentalist wants to see.
- Kinklist. The experimentalist’s tool: everything laid out, and an answer per line.
- Kinkster. The broader label, of which experimentalist is one filling.
- Sub list. The list where curiosity has to become a box.
- Switch. The word for whoever does both sides, and why that is not an in-between setting.
Frequently asked questions
What people still ask about the experimentalist.
What is an experimentalist in BDSM?
An experimentalist is someone who wants to try almost everything at least once, without tying themselves to one role. The word comes from the result of the BDSM test, where it sits alongside roles like rigger, brat and masochist. Unlike those roles, an experimentalist has no counter-role.
Is experimentalist a real BDSM role?
It is more of an attitude than a role. The makers of the BDSM test publish no description of this archetype themselves, and there is no research that pins the label down. What has been measured: Wismeijer and van Assen found in 902 BDSM practitioners more openness to new experiences than in 434 control participants.
What do you do with a high score on experimentalist?
You use it as a word list, not as an assignment. A high score on experimentalist says that many things make you curious, and not that you can already do them. So alongside the test, also fill in the experience-level column, because curiosity without experience calls for a longer conversation beforehand.
Who can you turn to with questions about experimenting in BDSM?
To Victor, gigolo with twenty-five years of experience in BDSM and a background as a psychotherapist. He would rather look at what you have never done than at a percentage, and thinks along about where you start. Asking a question with no obligation is possible through the contact form or first chatting for free; you do not have to be a client.
Blog
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Want to know more
Still have questions about experimenting?
I'm Victor. Do you have a test result full of things that make you curious and do not know where to start? Send me a message. No obligation, and I'll tell you honestly what I do and do not do myself.