It is rather more daring than going to the local golf club at the weekend.
But with Fifty Shades of Grey having gone mainstream, experts say a spot of spanking is just another leisure activity.
Now categorised along hiking and skiing, US sociologists are arguing that bondage is similar because it helps participants develop personal skills, creates a sense of adventure and reduces stress.
If it were not similar to such leisure pursuits, an academic paper suggests, then it would not include the words ‘play’ and ‘games’.
The reclassification, in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, follows the runaway success of Fifty Shades of Grey, the bondage novel which was made into a Hollywood film in 2015.
Bondage has been reclassified as a sport just like hiking, skiing or playing golf in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. File image used
The study, led by Idaho State University, states: ‘A few recent studies have suggested that BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission) participation might provide important psychological and social benefits, such as feelings of pleasure or enjoyment, fun, an escape from the demands of everyday life, personal growth, improved relationships and self-expression.’
Lead author Dr DJ Williams added: ‘Our findings show, overwhelmingly, that BDSM fits properties of common leisure experience, similar to people who enjoy golf, swimming and attending cultural events.’
The researchers asked 935 people who enjoyed BDSM how much they agreed the sex they had fell into categories similar to those of leisure activities.
After the mass success of erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey and its accompanying Hollywood films starring Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan (pictured) spanking has gone mainstream
The results show 91 per cent used personal skills, while 81 per cent said they required special knowledge or abilities.
As in their leisure pursuits, 90 per cent said their bedroom activities gave them a sense of freedom, while 99 per cent received pleasure and 91 per cent felt a sense of adventure.
Some 58 per cent said it was a leisure activity, with almost two-thirds saying it was at least recreational.
The study says that looking at bondage as a leisure activity could remove the stigma attached to it.
Sociologists are arguing bondage is similar to sport because it helps participants develop personal skills, creates a sense of adventure and reduces stress