this groundbreaking anthology, kinky people from around the world reveal in intimate detail their true stories of embracing the non-traditional practices that have informed or defined their identities, sexualities, relationships, connections, and communities. Filled with first-person narratives and stunning photographs, Kink Is captures the universal presence of kink across cultures, private lives, and public events. In these stories -- as vulnerably honest as they are bravely bold -- real people share what motivates and animates their desires to experience human-to-human connection in novel ways, most often in the pursuit of increased emotional freedom, physical autonomy, individual power, and mind-altering joy. Featured here are activists, rebels, and professionals alike: Readers will meet a teacher, a technology guru, a priest, a political prisoner, a therapist, an astrophysicist, and a grandmother, among many others across all walks of life. These people come to Kink Is from everywhere, whether living their authentic lives in big cities, tidy subdivisions, or rural outposts. In the end, Kink Is uncovers how common life on the sexual frontier actually is, making this book surprisingly relatable -- even for people who think they are not kinky.