BDSM is more widespread now in Sweden than most people realize, thanks in part to many symbolic sado-masochist references in pop culture and internet networking.
The spread of exhibitionist clubs as well as political lobbying among have also played a role, according to Anna Bäsén, a medical journalist at the Expressen newspaper and co-author of the sold out book “Pervers – Sex utöver det vanliga” ('Perversion – sex that's out of the ordinary').
“It is not unusual to see Madonna or Britney Spears sporting SM clothes and dragging tied up men on their video clips on TV,” she said, noting this was not the norm a decade or two ago.
“We noticed that there is little informative literature about this culture in Sweden or Europe.”
Bäsén's book, co-written by researcher Niklas Långström, looks into most kinks and fetishist preferences within the BDSM culture in Sweden from a medical, social, legal and psychological point of view.
“During the last five years or so, the internet has made it a lot easier for people who have different preferences to meet others who share their preferences, especially sexual interests,” Bäsén explains.
“The club scene has become bigger: there are clubs like Dekadance, Whipclub, Swedish Leather Men – SLM, Lash, Club Sade, Club Sunrise and many more. However, people also arrange private parties.”
She noted that from a legal point of view, private parties enable people to enjoy their sexual preferences without breaking the law – for example, being dressed in German SS Army uniforms, or flashing sexual organs to people who appreciate that kind of “classical exhibitionism.”
Swedish society has also become more accepting of such alternative lifestyles, she says.
This trend was marked officially at the beginning of 2009, when the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) removed Fetishism, Transvestism, and Sadomasochism from its lists of symptoms and sicknesses.
“There are men who feel like going to work dressed in women clothes, and that should not be regarded as sick or illegal,” says Bäsén.
“Nobody rings the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan) to get their sick leave benefits because they can't make it to work when they are feeling a little bit sadomasochistic.”
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