It surely can and often is. I find it a bit ironic that people who think what it is that we do is normal and shouldn't be classified as a mental illness, people who think the police and the law shouldn't be able to tell them what to do in the privacy of their own home, are often guilty of judging others in the lifestyle who aren't fluffy pink bondage bunnies. Of course, when you post something on a public forum, you're going to get all kinds of opinions, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I think people need to remember that your kink may not be my kink and vice versa. Before you start pointing fingers and crying "illegal" or "abuse," remember that in most places you can't consent to battery, that you can be prosecuted without your partner pressing charges, that your partner can be prosecuted for obstruction of justice/aiding and abetting, etc.

Yes, we are some sick fucks! Get over it or go back to reading Harlequin romance novels.