The feeling of needing to hide one’s kink identity is very common and stems from deep, historical stigmas against alternative sexualities. Kink shame is a feeling that the type of sex you want is bad, wrong, disgusting, or immoral. A person may feel guilt and shame each time they engage in their fetish or have kinky sex. This shame can drive them to seek out more normative types of behaviors and relationships—and can also lead to promising themselves they will never do the “bad” thing again.
