# Why Do People Have Kinks?

> You want the actual cause, and the honest answer is that nobody has found one. Here is what research suggests instead — several partial, overlapping explanations, none of them a verdict on you.

Canonical URL: https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/
Markdown: https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/index.md
Publication: Classic BDSM — an India-focused, adult-only, non-explicit educational resource.

## Scope

This page covers: why do people have kinks.
Also addresses: are kinks hereditary; what causes kinks; do kinks come from trauma.
Not covered here (see the linked pages instead): what is a kink; kink shaming.

## Key concepts

- kink
- origins
- heritability
- trauma
- learning theory
- fantasy
- temperament
- culture
- BDSM psychology

## Sections

- What actually causes kinks? There is no single "kink gene" or universal origin story (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#no-single-cause)
- How researchers think about preference development (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#how-preferences-develop)
- Learning, association and fantasy (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#learning-fantasy-and-imagination)
- Personality, temperament and culture (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#personality-temperament-and-culture)
- Are kinks hereditary? (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#are-kinks-hereditary)
- Does trauma cause kink? (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#does-trauma-cause-kink)
- Why preferences change, and why fantasy and real life can differ (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#why-preferences-can-change)
- What research still cannot tell us (https://classic-bdsm.com/learn/why-do-people-have-kinks/#what-research-still-cannot-tell-us)

## Sources referenced

- The Journal of Sex Research — Jaime M. Brown, Meg-John Barker & Qazi Rahman, "A Systematic Scoping Review of the Prevalence, Etiological, Psychological, and Interpersonal Factors Associated with BDSM" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617765/)
- Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy — Dunkley, C. R. & Brotto, L. A., "Clinical Considerations in Treating BDSM Practitioners: A Review" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29543573/)
- The Journal of Sexual Medicine — Wismeijer, A. A. J., & van Assen, M. A. L. M., "Psychological Characteristics of BDSM Practitioners" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23679066/)
- Journal of Homosexuality — Lecuona, O., et al., "Not Twisted, Just Kinky: Replication and Structural Invariance of Attachment, Personality, and Well-Being Among BDSM Practitioners" (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39028855/)

Last reviewed: 2026-08-31