Kink and BDSM resources we recommend

Fiction is one way into kink. Most people who stay find the rest of it somewhere else: a local group, a good teacher, a reading list someone trusted, a podcast that made the vocabulary less strange. This page lists the places we point readers to when they ask where to go next.

Every entry is a page we have read ourselves. Most are run by volunteers, associations or educators rather than shops. Nobody paid to be on this page, and a link back is not a condition for being on it. If a link here is broken, or a page has turned into something we would not send you to, tell us through the contact page and we will look at it again.

Associations and communities

The Eulenspiegel Society. New York. A nonprofit BDSM education group that has been running since 1971, with a list of community resources.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. The US advocacy group for people in kink and alternative sexual communities. Its allies directory lists the organisations it works with.

Center for Sex Positive Culture. Seattle. A member-run community centre with handouts, manuals and educational material.

Portland Leather Alliance. Portland, Oregon. Links to leather history, advocacy and local groups.

Rocky Mountain Leather Alliance. Denver. A directory of local organisations and community spaces.

EhBC. Southern Ontario. A long-running BDSM group whose resources page has beginner guides, a checklist and notes on red flags.

Uncommon Bonds. Wellington, New Zealand. A BDSM association with its own guides and links to sexual health resources.

SMil Danmark. The Danish national association, with a lexicon in Danish. SMil Norge is its Norwegian counterpart.

Helsingin akateemiset kinkyt in Helsinki and Bizarre Club in Jyväskylä. Finnish associations whose link pages map the kink groups across the country, in Finnish.

PariS-M. A Paris association, in French. Libertine Wien lists the groups and venues in Vienna, in German. Asociación BDSMK keeps a catalogue of the Spanish scene, in Spanish.

BDSMContracts.org. A reading list of books and web resources on negotiation, contracts and dynamics.

Consent Culture. A glossary written from a consent and education angle.

Center for Positive Sexuality. A nonprofit with sexuality resources covering health, education and kink.

Bound Together. Kink education resources.

Lilith Foxx. A piece on how to find BDSM education you can trust, with the sources she recommends.

BDSM 101. Resources and introductory groups for people starting out.

Univers-BDSM. A French reference site with links to associations and rope schools, in French.

Rope and leather

Shibari Adventure. A rope teacher's list of rope education resources.

Shibari.PH. Rope education resources from a teacher in the Philippines, in English.

The Rope Journey. Rope learning and consent resources.

Austin Rope Slingers. A Rope 101 reading list from a local rope group.

John's Guide to Leather and Bear London. Leather and kink links for London: clubs, events and groups.

Leather Life Educational Series. Columbus, Ohio. Community resources including the Leather Archives.

kradeelav. A personal library of leather history and resources.

Kink-aware professionals

Kink Your Way. A kink coach's page of other resources, including directories of kink-aware professionals.

Coaching by Kali. Recommendations from a kink coach.

Philia Therapy. A UK therapy practice with a list of external resources, among them kink-aware and queer-affirming services.

Lists and calendars

KinkKal. A global kink event calendar, with a links page for learning and connecting.

Loving BDSM. A large list of kink resources: organisations, podcasts and teachers.

Asher Lake. A FemDom resource list of books, websites, groups and apps.

Beverly L. Anderson. An author's list of essential BDSM resources and information.

Writing erotic fiction

Passionate Ink. An association for writers of erotic romance, with resources and partner organisations.

Remittance Girl. A literary erotica writer's links to other writers and resources.

Podcasts

2 Kinky Women Podcast. A power exchange podcast and the people and organisations it trusts.

KNP Podcast. Kinky, nerdy and polyamorous, with a resources page.