Flogging Teachers: BDSM, Consent, and the Collapse of Professional Authority

• In Event: Queering the Social Context of Education

Abstract

My presentation employs BDSM (bondage, discipline, sadomasochism) frameworks to examine how contemporary educational conditions have collapsed pedagogical authority while transforming teaching into coercive power structures. Unlike ethical BDSM emphasizing consent and boundaries, teachers cannot consent to mandated curricula, surveillance systems, or political restrictions. My analysis reveals teaching’s transformation from empowering practice to abusive labor relations.

Author

• Roland Sintos Coloma, Wayne State University