A Short History Of BDSM Books and Fiction

The fascinating history of BDSM spans thousands of years across many different cultures and is well documented in historic texts and works of fiction. From dominance to submission, restraint to role-play, these interactions have existed in both erotic and non-erotic contexts throughout history and has resulted in a large and fascinating library of bdsm erotic literature ranging from short stories to full novels.

Some of the earliest references to BDSM date back as far as 2250 B.C. The academic historian and archaeologist Anne Nomis identified BDSM in ancient Sumerian texts about rituals to the Goddess Inanna. Nomis points to ancient writings such as the Hymn to Inanna, which mentions rituals of domination, cross-dressing, altered states of consciousness, punishment, moaning, and ecstasy.

Ancient Greece and Rome

4000–3100 BC. A mention of flagellation (whipping, flogging) appears in the Roman poet Juvenal’s sixth book of Satires.

900 BC. Examples of other ritual flagellation can also be found around Sparta. The whipping often occurred in Artemis Orthia, one of the most important religious areas of ancient Sparta. Here, a priestess would whip young men in a ceremony intended to make them more masculine and tough fighters.

Kama Sutra (200 AD)

This well-known Hindu text is often seen in Sanskrit Literature as the standard on human sexual behavior. In the West, it has contributed to the spread of many sexual practices, including BDSM. It’s also considered one of the first written records dealing with consensual BDSM activities and safety rules.

Justine (1791)

This novel by Marquis de Sade tells the story of a young maiden who embarks on a quest for virtue and is repeatedly forced to submit to the men she meets and become a sex slave. The word “sadism” is derived from Marquis de Sade’s name.

Venus in Furs (1870)

In this novel, a man becomes so infatuated with a woman, Wanda von Dunajew, that he begs to be her slave. Wanda learns to treat him in increasingly humiliating ways, and both are sexually excited by his degradation. The author’s name, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, gave birth to the word “masochist”.

Story of the Eye (1928)

This novella, by French philosopher Georges Bataille, details the increasingly bizarre sexual perversions of a pair of teenage lovers. It is narrated by the young man looking back on his unorthodox kinky experiences.

Story of O (1954)

This extremely sexual story of female submission, written by French author Anne Desclos under the pen name Pauline Réage, won the French literature prize Prix des Deux Magots in 1955,  but  was also prosecuted under obscenity charges in the U.K…

The Rise Of BDSM and Erotic Fiction On The Internet

According to wikipedia, “Literotica, launched in 2008 was amongst the first adult sites to be open to story creators, quickly having replaced the usenet erotic story sections. Its few rules prohibit stories about paedophilia and bestiality (except fantasy creatures like dragons and unicorns), and it is mostly aimed towards amateur writers and readers who prefer the (largely) image-free environment. Stories submitted include short, one-off stories, chain-stories written in collaboration with other authors, and entire novels submitted in a “chapter-by-chapter” mode”. One of the sites most popular sections is devoted to BDSM fiction which has well over 2000 works. The site also features audio stories and a video on demand service.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2011)

The sadomasochistic-fantasy novel was first self-published as an ebook, and Vintage Books soon acquired the publishing rights in March 2012. Although widely criticized by the BDSM community for its inaccurate information, more than 100 million copies of the novel have sold worldwide, and the book has been translated into 52 languages.