Sex and Psychology Podcast Episode 466: What People Get Wrong About Kink
Jan 13, 2026
Gigi Engle, a certified sex and relationships psychotherapist and author of Kink Curious, joins the discussion to redefine kink. She reveals that kink encompasses a broad range of behaviors and is often misunderstood. Exploring the origins of kinks, Gigi explains their links to childhood experiences and the joy of adult play. They dive into power dynamics and why many people eroticize control. The conversation also addresses common myths about kink, encouraging acceptance and normalizing curiosity.
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Episode notes
Kink Is Broad And Subjective
- Kink is a broad, common spectrum of sexual interests rather than extreme outliers.
- What seems kinky to one person may be vanilla to another, so kink is subjective.
Kink Versus Fetish
- Kink covers any sexual interest outside the heteronormative patriarchal script, from role play to sensation play.
- Fetishes are a subtype of kink, but not all kink is fetish.
You Get To Define Kinky
- Whether something is kinky is in the eye of the beholder and entirely subjective.
- Self-definition matters: if you find something kinky, that alone makes it kinky for you.
