“It’s a totally new revolution and it’s really exploded,” Dunlap told ABCNews.com. “The Internet has changed everything. So many people can go online and say, ‘This is me. I love this. I am finding like types.'”

And for those who think this phenomenon might encourage anti-social behavior, he counters, “I don’t think anyone was really damaged or hurt by book or movie.”

Columbia’s Kuriansky agrees that “what’s weird, sick or kinky for you is what practitioners defend as ‘normal’ for them.”

“Credit, or blame, the Internet, making information available in such a level playing field that outrageous acts have become so accessible they seem mainstream,” she told ABCNews.com.