It could be a cheap, lazy writing schtick. Establishing someone as malevolent by portraying them as a sexual deviant. Many people into BDSM are otherwise normal and even nice people. This is similar to the 90s when men with long hair were portrayed as villians.
In subreddit r/1923Series
In a post titled:
So I think its safe to say, we all know that Whitfield is the on screen personification of Taylor Sheridans over sexualized and misogynistic view of women, right?