BDSM, Kink Community Outraged by Former NY AG Eric Schneiderman

After New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman resigned in the wake of accusations of violence against women, claiming it was "role-playing and other consensual sexual activity," those open about partaking in BDSM behavior and kink play are taking offense.

The bondage, dominance, submission, and masochism community has been disowning Schneiderman on social media. Unlike in a 50 Shades of Grey scenario, accusers of the fallen politician claim that the violence came unexpected and without consent beforehand. Out journalist Ronan Farrow, who wrote the expose on Schneiderman for The New Yorker, told CNN that his accusers made it clear "that this was not role-playing, that this was not Fifty Shades of Grey. It wasn't in a gray area at all."

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Mistress Matisse, a dominatrix from Seattle, told the Associated Press that non-negotiated encounters, "ABUSE. End of story." The kink community "puts a premium on consent," wrote Ej Dickinson, an editor at Men's Health. "It is one of the very basic tenets of BDSM," she explained. "Often, sex acts will be negotiated beforehand in the form of contracts, and either way, anyone practicing BDSM responsibly will implement a 'safe word' to make it clear if they are uncomfortable with anything happening."

Others hope the scandal will help illuminate the differences between partaking in consensual kinky sex and the types of violence Schneiderman was known for prosecuting as attorney general.

The anger of the kink community is in line with that of LGBT voices when Kevin Spacey claimed he was gay when faced with accusations of abuse. Jillian Keenan, author of the BDSM memoir Sex with Shakespeare, touched on the issue in an email to the AP: "Just as sex without consent is rape, kink without consent doesn't exist -- that's assault."