BDSM is several different often erotic methods or roleplaying involving bondage, self-discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and various related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which can be engaged in by people who don't think about themselves to be practising BDSM, inclusion during the BDSM Group or subculture generally is claimed to depend upon self-identification and shared expertise.

The initialism BDSM is very first recorded inside a Usenet post from 1991, and is particularly interpreted as a mix of the abbreviations B/D (Bondage and Self-discipline), D/s (Dominance and submission), and S/M (Sadism and Masochism). BDSM is now made use of to be a capture-all phrase covering a variety of functions, kinds of interpersonal relationships, and distinctive subcultures. BDSM communities normally welcome any person with a non-normative streak who identifies While using the Local community; this will include cross-dressers, overall body modification fanatics, animal roleplayers, rubber fetishists, and others.

Functions and relationships in BDSM will often be characterised through the participants' taking up roles that are complementary and require inequality of electrical power; So, the concept of educated consent of the two the associates is important. The conditions submissive and dominant are frequently made use of to tell apart these roles: the dominant husband or wife ("dom") will take psychological Command above the submissive ("sub"). The conditions leading and base are employed; the best will be the instigator of the motion whilst the bottom is definitely the receiver from the motion. The 2 sets of conditions are subtly distinct: one example is, someone may possibly prefer to act as bottom to another man or woman, for example, by getting whipped, purely recreationally, with no implication of remaining psychologically dominated, and submissives might be requested to massage their dominant companions. Even though the base carries out the motion and the top receives it, they've not always switched roles.

The abbreviations sub and dom are commonly made use of instead of submissive and dominant. At times the feminine-precise conditions mistress, domme, and dominatrix are made use of to describe a dominant woman, rather than the at times gender-neutral phrase dom. Individuals who adjust involving top rated/dominant and base/submissive roles—whether or not from partnership to connection or in a provided romantic relationship—are named switches. The exact definition of roles and self-identification is a typical topic of debate among BDSM participants.