Commercial Pressure

Nichols, Pagano, and Rossoff (1982) cite Schipper (1980) in arguing that the sex product industry (they consider toy a euphemism) is a massive source of profits, and that it uses sophisticated marketing to promote their products “and create a need for them.” Moreover, they argue that BDSM imagery is also used in marketing other products, pointing out that “major department stores have discovered that sadomasochistic themes or situations in their window displays lure customers.” Jeffreys (1990, p. 214) makes a comparable but more limited claim.

This seems to imply an etiological claim: kinky people develop their kink by succumbing to marketing pressure.  I don't know how seriously these authors intended this explanation to be taken: it seems rather like an afterthought in the first essay mentioned. Moreover, Schipper's claim is that sex toys were a $100 million market in 1980, or roughly 0.001% of GDP. He puts the markup on sex toys at 50% to 300%, which is hardly exorbitant for a niche market. Most of this market, according to Schipper, consists of vibrators and the like: BDSM toys per se would seem to occupy a small fraction of it.

Weiss (2006) systematically reviews BDSM tropes in advertising. They are, increasingly, part of the vocabulary of advertising, but they still hardly seem large enough to conclude that this is a major vector for cultural transmission.