Our Framework
Four dimensions. Two layers. Sixteen types.
Which one
are you?
Percentages don't mean anything.
Most tests reduce kink to a list of scores. You're 68% dominant, 42% into ropes. But what do you do with that? A number doesn't capture what you actually want — or why.
Structure + Arousal. Two layers.
The first two letters define your relationship structure — where power sits and how your kink is organized. The last two define your arousal mode — how you enter the state and what pushes you deeper.
Not a clinical tool. A map — for people who want language for what they already feel.
Not a score. A complete type.
Four dimensions combine into 16 distinct types — each with a code, a name, and language for what you already knew about yourself.
Discover your type →the framework
Four dimensions. Two layers.
The first two form your structural layer — the last two form your arousal layer. Together, they create your type.
Which power position do you take more naturally — the one who sets the frame, or the one who enters it?
Is your kink more a continuous relational identity, or a series of distinct scene-by-scene events?
Do you enter the state mainly through the body or the mind — touch and restraint, or language and suspense?
Are you lit up more by being pushed toward the edge, or by precise attunement — pressure, or finesse?
structure
Four families, four modes
The first two letters form four structural families — Reign (DI), Scene (DO), Bond (SI), and Spark (SO). The last two letters form four arousal modes — Impact, Holding, Tension, and Attunement.
4 families × 4 modes = 16 types. Each type isn't a random combination — it's a specific pattern of how you relate and how you're ignited.
methodology
Research informed
The dimensional structure draws on peer-reviewed research in Archives of Sexual Behavior and Journal of Sexual Medicine. This is a self-discovery tool, not a clinical instrument.
16Kinks does not diagnose, pathologize, or rank. It provides language for preferences you already have — helping you understand, express, and discuss what you want.
Every type comes with a Growth Edge (your most valuable direction for exploration) and a Shadow Need (a deeper desire you may not always name directly). Types aren't boxes — they're starting points for a longer conversation.