
The man who likes to kneel
A man can be confident, successful, masculine, and still want to give someone else control. And somehow, the moment he does, we start looking for an explanation. Is it about power? Relief from control? Vulnerability? Humiliation? Trust? Or have we simply decided that surrender needs a deeper psychological reason when it comes from a man? I’ve been reading the research, but I’ve also been exploring this personally from the other side, as the woman they submit to. This episode is about what I found there: the strange relationship between masculinity and control, what surrender can give someone, where shame enters the picture, and why sometimes we should stop trying to explain desire into something more acceptable. Sometimes he JUST likes it. References: 1. Alicia M. Walker, Arielle Kuperberg & Audrey Lutmer — “It’s at Odds With How I Live My Life”: Masculinity, Gender, BDSM Roles, and Identity Disclosure (2026) 2. Staci Newmahr — Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk, and Intimacy (2011) 3. Gloria G. Brame, William D. Brame & Jon Jacobs — Different Loving: The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission (1993)