Bondage & Discipline
Bondage is the restrainment of a partner. It can keep them immobile, give them a limited range of motion, pull body parts together, keep body parts apart, bind someone to something or someone else, suspend someone, or wrap/mummify the person. Bondage can include any form of restraint like rope, chains, silks, handcuffs, spreader bars, cages, plastic wrap, etc. Typically, a Dominant or Top restrains a submissive or bottom.
Discipline is the correction of a submissive or bottom’s behavior with a form of punishment. It can be apart of role-playing where there is an authoritative figure who punishes the bottom for a transgression. As with role-playing, discipline can be simply for sexual gratification rather than actually correcting behavior. Discipline can include pain, humiliation, the withholdment of a reward, a task, or even bondage.
Dominance & submission (D/s) is the consensual exchange of power between two partners. The submissive gives control over to the Dominant. The Dominant then leads, guides, and cares for the submissive’s physical and psychological needs. They may set rules for them to follow for both their well-being or the Dominant’s pleasure. The submissive’s job, in turn, is to please and serve their Dominant. Male Dominants are referred to as Doms and female Dominants are known as Dommes. A switch is someone who can be both Dominant and submissive. Before entering into a dynamic, the Dominant and submissive usually go over hard and soft limits. Hard limits are things that are never to be done in a scene or otherwise. Soft limits are things the person is more hesitant about but is still open to and may be conditional. Of this, there are subcategories like Master/slave, Daddy Dom/little girl, etc.
Dominance & Submission
Sadism and Masochism
Sadism is when someone gets sexual gratification from inflicting pain on others. Masochism is the sexual enjoyment from receiving pain. It can be emotional or physical pain of any level.
Psychiatrist Richard Von Krafft-Ebing named sadism and masochism after two authors in his book Psychopathia Sexualis. Sadism is derived from Marquis de Sade who lived from 1740-1814. He practiced cruel sexuality on prostitutes and wrote novels about his practices. His most famous is Justine. Masochism is named after Leopold von Sacher-Masoch who lived from 1836-1895. His book Venus in Furs is based upon his own life and fantasies of being used by a woman at her will.
