From sapphic sub/dom relationships to the rise of KinkTok, ELLA GAUCI INVESTIGATES

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Gone are the days of underground kink clubs and hiding your sex toys in the closet. Kink has officially entered the mainstream. The last decade has seen a surge in kink-related content hitting our screens, with #kink having a whopping 12.6 billion views on TikTok alone.

While the heterosexual world was enraptured by 50 Shades Of Grey, we sapphics have been spoiled for choice with spicy films to unlock our wildest desires. From The Duke Of Burgundy (2014) with its sub/dom relationship to TikTokers making educational videos about BDSM online, queer kinky love is finally being recognised.

Mel Schrock (she/her) is one of the TikTokers sharing educational and relatable content with her 58,000 fans online (@kingmel_2020). However, Mel’s experience with kink is relatively recent. After meeting her partner on TikTok nearly three years ago, she found what had been “missing” from her life.

Away from harmful depictions that are presented in porn or films like 50 Shades, for dynamics like Mel’s the sex isn’t actually the most important thing. It’s communication. “You have to be able to communicate with your partner. Communication is the number one thing you have to learn, because there is so much trust that goes into a scene or a relationship. You have to be able to say: ‘I don’t like this.’ You have to be able to have some really hard conversations.”