I'm thinking about the relative lack of material on BDSM in the philosophy of sex literature and the flawed assumption in philosophy of mind that a certain sort of pain has the same uniform character across all instances. And so, I've have an idea ... (1/4)

... In "Sex in the Head", Seiriol Morgan argues that the sexual is a realm of experience that is salient to us because it is open to meaningful transformation by the significance the person (or people) and the situation has for us ... (2/4) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1468-5930.00231

... Hence, depending on the context, sex may carry different meanings, e.g., love, fun, shame, etc. I think the same could be said about pain. I think the painful is also a realm of experience that is salient to us because it is open to meaningful transformation ... (3/4)

... by the significance the person (or people) and the situation has for us. BDSM is a vivid example of this openness to meaningful transformation. Also, it presents a case where these two realms (the sexual & the painful) interact, each meaningfully transforming the other. (4/4)