Editing BDSM (section)

== Fundamentals ==
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''BDSM'' is an umbrella term for certain kinds of erotic behaviour between consenting adults, encompassing various [[subculture]]s. Terms for roles vary widely among the subcultures. ''[[Top (BDSM)|Top]]'' and ''[[Dominance and submission|dominant]]'' are widely used for those partner(s) in the relationship or activity who are, respectively, the physically active or controlling participants. ''Bottom'' and ''submissive'' are widely used for those partner(s) in the relationship or activity who are, respectively, the physically receptive or controlled participants. The interaction between tops and bottoms—where physical or mental control of the bottom is surrendered to the top—is sometimes known as "power exchange", whether in the context of an encounter or a relationship.<ref name="bdsmdict">{{Cite web |url=http://www.xeromag.com/fvbdglossary.html |title=Dictionary of BDSM Terms |access-date=26 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202105250/http://www.xeromag.com/fvbdglossary.html |archive-date=2 December 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

BDSM actions can often take place during a specific period of time agreed to by both parties, referred to as "play", a "scene", or a "session". Participants usually derive pleasure from this, even though many of the practices—such as inflicting pain or [[Erotic humiliation|humiliation]] or being restrained—would be unpleasant under other circumstances. Explicit [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]], such as [[sexual penetration]], may occur within a session, but is not essential.<ref name='sexual'>{{Cite book |first1=Phillip |last1=Miller |first2=Molly |last2=Devon |first3=William A. |last3=Granzig |title=Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism |url=https://archive.org/details/screwrosessendme00mill |url-access=limited |page=[https://archive.org/details/screwrosessendme00mill/page/n71 55] |publisher=Mystic Rose Books |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-9645960-0-9}}</ref> For legal reasons, such explicit sexual interaction is seen only rarely in public play spaces and is sometimes banned by the rules of a party or playspace. Whether it is a public "playspace"—ranging from a party at an established community dungeon to a hosted play "zone" at a nightclub or social event—the parameters of allowance can vary. Some have a policy of [[panties]]/[[nipple sticker]] for women (underwear for men) and some allow full [[nudity]] with explicit sexual acts.<ref name="bdsmdict" />

The fundamental principles for the exercise of BDSM require that it be performed with the informed consent of all parties. Since the 1980s, many practitioners and organizations have adopted the motto (originally from the statement of purpose of GMSMA—a gay SM activist organization) ''[[safe, sane and consensual]]'' (''SSC''), which means that everything is based on safe activities, that all participants are of sufficiently sound mind to consent, and that all participants do consent.<ref>Bill Henkin, Sybil Holiday: ''Consensual Sadomasochism : How to Talk About It and How to Do It Safely'', page 64, Publisher: Daedalus Publishing Company 2006, {{ISBN|978-1-881943-12-9}}</ref> Mutual consent makes a clear legal and ethical distinction between BDSM and such crimes as sexual assault and [[domestic violence]].<ref>{{cite web|url = http://sexsupport.org/abusevsere.html|title = VICSS / Difference between Abuse and Power Exchange by the NLA, Dutch SM Media Information Center and Powerrotics|access-date = 10 December 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071216091307/https://sexsupport.org/abusevsere.html| archive-date= 16 December 2007 | url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:3-D - Folsom Street Fair.jpg|thumb|Flogging of the bare [[buttocks]] as seen in this [[LGBT culture in New York City|New York]] street fair is a common practice in BDSM.]]
Some BDSM practitioners prefer a code of behaviour that differs from SSC. Described as "[[risk-aware consensual kink]]" (RACK), this code shows a preference for a style in which the ''individual'' responsibility of the involved parties is emphasized more strongly, with each participant being responsible for their own well-being. Advocates of RACK argue that SSC can hamper discussion of risk because no activity is truly "safe", and that discussion of even low-risk possibilities is necessary for truly informed consent. They further argue that setting a discrete line between "safe" and "not-safe" activities ideologically denies consenting adults the right to evaluate risks versus rewards for themselves; that some adults will be drawn to certain activities regardless of the risk; and that BDSM play—particularly higher-risk play or [[edgeplay]]—should be treated with the same regard as extreme sports, with both respect and the demand that practitioners educate themselves and practice the higher-risk activities to decrease risk. RACK may be seen as focusing primarily upon awareness and informed consent, rather than accepted safe practices.<ref>{{cite web |year=2003 |title=Rack vs. SSC |url=http://www.withinreality.com/rackssc.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070108212010/http://www.withinreality.com/rackssc.html |archive-date=8 January 2007 |access-date=13 November 2006 |website=Within Reality}}</ref>

{{See also|Consent in BDSM}}

Consent is the most important criterion. The consent and compliance for a [[sadomasochistic]] situation can be granted only by people who can judge the potential results. For their consent, they must have relevant information (the extent to which the scene will go, potential risks, if a safeword will be used, what that is, and so on) at hand and the necessary mental capacity to judge. The resulting consent and understanding is occasionally summarized in a written "[[Contract (BDSM)|contract]]", which is an agreement of what can and cannot take place.<ref>Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: ''The New Topping Book'', Greenery Press (CA) 2002, {{ISBN|978-1-890159-36-8}}</ref>

BDSM play is usually structured such that it is possible for the consenting partner to withdraw their consent at any point during a scene;<ref>Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: ''The New Topping Book'', page 72, Greenery Press (CA) 2002, {{ISBN|978-1-890159-36-8}}</ref> for example, by using a [[safeword]] that was agreed on in advance.<ref name=sm101>{{Cite book |author-link=Jay Wiseman |last=Wiseman |first=Jay |title=SM 101: A Realistic Introduction |publisher=Greenery Press |location=California |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-9639763-8-3 }}</ref><ref>Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: ''The New Topping Book'', page 71, Greenery Press (CA) 2002</ref> Use of the agreed safeword (or occasionally a "safe symbol" such as dropping a ball or ringing a bell, especially when speech is restricted) is seen by some as an explicit withdrawal of consent. Failure to honor a safeword is considered serious misconduct and could constitute a crime, [[#Legal status|depending on the relevant law]],<ref name=sm101 /> since the bottom or top has explicitly revoked their consent to any actions that follow the use of the safeword. For other scenes, particularly in established relationships, a safeword may be agreed to signify a warning ("this is getting too intense") rather than explicit withdrawal of consent; and a few choose not to use a safeword at all.

=== Terminology and subtypes ===
[[File:Bondage model and rigger at BoundCon 2015 custom photoshoot 8.jpg|thumb|A male [[bondage rigger]] demonstrates to the audience how to do [[rope bondage]] at the 2015 [[BoundCon]] event in Germany. The bondage technique used here is [[Ushiro Takatekote|box tie]], a basic form of arm and [[breast bondage]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.restrainedelegance.com/preview/lexicon1/icons/index.php|title=The Restrained Elegance lexicon of slavegirl bondage poses and positions|website=www.restrainedelegance.com|access-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823184337/http://www.restrainedelegance.com/preview/lexicon1/icons/index.php|archive-date=23 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

The initialism ''BDSM'' appeared for the first time in 1983 in the scientific paper "S and M: Studies in Dominance and Submission" by Thomas Weinberg.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marcet |first1=Maria Eugenia |year=2017 |title=	Processos de construcción de identidades en una comunidad BDSM in Buenos Aires
|url=https://onteaiken.com.ar/ver/boletin24/onteaiken24-09.pdf |access-date=16 February 2025 |journal=Boletín Onteiaken |publisher=[[National University of Córdoba]] |language=es |issue=24}}</ref> It was later popularized in a list of frequent questions for the site alt.sex.bondageFAQ and reposted between 1995 and 1997 in the forum  soc.subculture.bondage-bdsm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Santos |first1=Renata de Oliveira |year=2021 |title=	A importância dos elementos simbólicos no traje da mulher dominadora na prática do BDSM
|url=https://repositorio.ufc.br/bitstream/riufc/68954/3/2021_tcc_rosantos.pdf |access-date=15 February 2025|journal=Final paper in Design-Fashion |publisher=[[Federal University of Ceará]] |language=pt-BR}}</ref> It stands for:<ref name="J. Shrage">[https://books.google.com/books?id=MNMRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT254 Philosophizing About Sex] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512115359/https://books.google.com/books?id=MNMRCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT244 |date=12 May 2023 }}, PT 254</ref>
* [[Bondage (BDSM)|Bondage]] and [[Discipline (BDSM)|discipline]] (''B&D'')
* [[Dominance and submission]] (''D&s'')
* [[Sadomasochism]] (or ''S&M'')
These terms replaced ''sadomasochism'', as they more broadly cover BDSM activities and focus on the submissive roles instead of psychological pain.<ref name="J. Shrage"/> The model is only an attempt at phenomenological differentiation. Individual tastes and preferences in the area of [[human sexuality]] may overlap among these areas.

Under the initialism BDSM, these psychological and physiological facets are also included:
*[[Male dominance (BDSM)|Male dominance]]
*[[Male submission]]
*[[Female dominance]]
*[[Female submission]]

The term ''bondage'' describes the practice of physical restraint. Bondage is usually, but not always, a sexual practice.<ref>Matthias T. J. Grimme: ''Das Bondage-Handbuch. Anleitung zum erotischen Fesseln''. Charon-Verlag, Hamburg 1999, {{ISBN|978-3-931406-16-5}}. (German)</ref> While bondage is a very popular variation within the larger field of BDSM, it is nevertheless sometimes differentiated from the rest of this field.<ref>Lee "Bridgett" Harrington: ''Shibari You Can Use: Japanese Rope Bondage and Erotic Macramé'', Mystic Productions 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-615-14490-0}}.</ref> A 2015 study of over 1,000 Canadians showed that about half of all men held fantasies of bondage, and almost half of all women did as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Joyal|first1=Christian C.|last2=Cossette|first2=Amélie|last3=Lapierre|first3=Vanessa|date=February 2015|title=What Exactly Is an Unusual Sexual Fantasy?|journal=The Journal of Sexual Medicine|volume=12|issue=#2|pages=328–340|doi=10.1111/jsm.12734|pmid=25359122|s2cid=33785479 |issn=1743-6095}}</ref> In a strict sense, bondage means binding the partner by tying their appendages together; for example, by the use of handcuffs or ropes, or by lashing their arms to an object. Bondage can also be achieved by spreading the appendages and fastening them with chains or ropes to a [[Saint Andrew's Cross (BDSM)|St. Andrew's cross]] or [[spreader bar]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Jay |last=Wiseman |title=Jay Wiseman's Erotic Bondage Handbook |publisher=Greenery Press |location=CA |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-890159-13-9 }}</ref>

The term ''discipline'' describes the use of rules and punishment to control overt behaviour.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-24 |title=Definition of DISCIPLINE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/discipline |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> Punishment can be pain caused physically (such as caning), humiliation caused psychologically (such as a public flagellation) or loss of freedom caused physically (for example, chaining the submissive partner to the foot of a bed). Another aspect is the structured training of the bottom.<ref>Bill Henkin, Sybil Holiday: ''Consensual Sadomasochism: How to Talk About It and How to Do It Safely'', page 71, Daedalus Publishing Company, 1996, {{ISBN|978-1-881943-12-9}}.</ref>

[[Dominance and submission (BDSM)|Dominance and submission]] (also known as ''D&s'', ''Ds'' or ''D/s'') is a set of behaviours, customs and rituals relating to the giving and accepting of control of one individual over another in an erotic or lifestyle context. It explores the more mental aspect of BDSM. This is also the case in many relationships not considering themselves as sadomasochistic; it is considered to be a part of BDSM if it is practiced purposefully. The range of its individual characteristics is thereby wide.<ref name=BBC20050922 >{{cite news |title=Face to face: Dominatrix and submissive |date=22 September 2005 |newspaper=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4271098.stm |access-date=22 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071226171611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4271098.stm |archive-date=26 December 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Bent forward strappado.jpg|thumb|[[Strappado bondage|Strappado]] with rope and a spreader bar. This practice has a distinct effect of immobilization and pain.]]

Often, [[Contract (BDSM)|BDSM contracts]] are set out in writing to record the formal consent of the parties to the power exchange, stating their common vision of the relationship dynamic.<ref name="bdsmdict" /> The purpose of this kind of agreement is primarily to encourage discussion and negotiation in advance and then to document that understanding for the benefit of all parties. Such documents have not been recognized as being legally binding, nor are they intended to be. These agreements are binding in the sense that the parties have the expectation that the negotiated rules will be followed. Often other friends and community members may witness the signing of such a document in a ceremony, and so parties violating their agreement can result in loss of face, respect or status with their friends in the community.

In general, as compared to conventional relationships, BDSM participants go to greater lengths to negotiate the important aspects of their relationships in advance, and to contribute significant effort toward learning about and following safe practices.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.evilmonk.org/a/wiseman10.cfm |title=Negotiation and Negotiation Forms |last1=Wiseman |first1=Jay |access-date=26 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141202013015/http://www.evilmonk.org/a/wiseman10.cfm |archive-date=2 December 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In D/s, the dominant is the top and the submissive is the bottom. In S/M, the sadist is usually the top and the masochist the bottom, but these roles are frequently more complicated or jumbled (as in the case of being dominant, masochists who may arrange for their submissive to carry out S/M activities on them). As in B/D, the declaration of the top/bottom may be required, though sadomasochists may also play without any power exchange at all, with both partners equally in control of the play.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

=== Etymology ===
The term ''[[sadomasochism]]'' is derived from the words ''sadism'' and ''masochism''. These terms differ somewhat from the same terms used in psychology since those require that the sadism or masochism cause significant distress or involve non-consenting partners.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=McGreal |first1=Scott A. |date=July 25, 2013 |title=BDSM, Personality and Mental Health |url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/unique-everybody-else/201307/bdsm-personality-and-mental-health |url-status=live |magazine=Psychology Today |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20191203141049/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unique%2Deverybody%2Delse/201307/bdsm%2Dpersonality%2Dand%2Dmental%2Dhealth |archive-date=3 December 2019 |access-date=26 November 2014}}</ref> ''Sadomasochism'' refers to the aspects of BDSM surrounding the exchange of physical or emotional pain. Sadism describes sexual pleasure derived by inflicting [[pain]], degradation, humiliation on another person or causing another person to suffer. On the other hand, the masochist enjoys being hurt, humiliated, or suffering within the consensual scenario.<ref name="bdsmdict" /> Sadomasochistic scenes sometimes reach a level that appears more extreme or cruel than other forms of BDSM—for example, when a masochist is brought to tears or is severely bruised—and is occasionally unwelcome at BDSM events or parties.{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}} Sadomasochism does not imply enjoyment through causing or receiving pain in other situations (for example, accidental injury, medical procedures).{{Citation needed|date=November 2014}}

[[File:Sade (van Loo).png|thumb|left|170px|''Portrait of [[Marquis de Sade]]'' by [[Charles-Amédée-Philippe van Loo]] (1761)]]
[[File:Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, portrait 3.jpg|thumb|left|170px|Portrait of [[Leopold von Sacher-Masoch]]]]
The terms ''sadism'' and ''masochism'' are derived from the names of the [[Marquis de Sade]] and [[Leopold von Sacher-Masoch]], based on the content of the authors' works. Although the names of de Sade and Sacher-Masoch are attached to the terms sadism and masochism respectively, the scenes described in de Sade's works do not meet modern BDSM standards of informed consent.<ref>cp: ''Marquis de Sade: The 120 Days of Sodom'', Pbl. ReadHowYouWant (1 December 2006), {{ISBN|978-1-4250-3448-1}}, pages 407–409 "'You'll have no further use for these,' he muttered, casting each article into a large grate. 'No further need for this mantelet, this dress, these stockings, this bodice, no,' said he when all had been consumed, 'all you'll need now is a coffin.'"</ref> BDSM is solely based on consensual activities, and based on its system and laws. The concepts presented by de Sade are not in accordance with the BDSM culture, even though they are sadistic in nature.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} In 1843, the Ruthenian physician [[Heinrich Kaan]] published ''{{Lang|la|[[Psychopathia Sexualis (Kaan book)|Psychopathia Sexualis]]}}'' (''Psychopathy of Sex''), a writing in which he converts the sin conceptions of Christianity into medical diagnoses. With his work, the originally theological terms ''perversion'', ''aberration'' and ''deviation'' became part of the scientific terminology for the first time.{{Dubious|date=January 2011}} The German psychiatrist [[Richard Freiherr von Krafft-Ebing|Richard von Krafft-Ebing]] introduced the terms ''sadism'' and ''masochism'' to the medical community in his work ''{{Lang|de|Neue Forschungen auf dem Gebiet der Psychopathia sexualis}}'' (''New research in the area of Psychopathy of Sex'') in 1890.<ref>Details describing the development of the theoretical construct "perversion" by Krafft-Ebing and his relation to this terms, see Andrea Beckmann, ''Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture'', 2001; 8(#2) 66–95 online at [http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is2/beckmann.html Deconstructing Myths] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170806/http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol8is2/beckmann.html |date=3 March 2016 }}</ref>

In 1905, [[Sigmund Freud]] described sadism and masochism in his ''[[Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality]]'' as diseases developing from an incorrect development of the child psyche and laid the groundwork for the scientific perspective on the subject in the following decades. This led to the first time use of the compound term ''sado-masochism'' (German ''{{Lang|de|sado-masochismus}}'') by the Viennese psychoanalytic [[Isidor Isaak Sadger]] in their work, "{{Lang|de|Über den sado-masochistischen Komplex}}" ("Regarding the sadomasochistic complex") in 1913.<ref>Isidor Isaak Sadger: "Über den sado-masochistischen Komplex" in: ''Jahrbuch für psychoanalytische und psychopathologische Forschungen'', Bd. 5, 1913, S. 157–232 (German)</ref>

In the later 20th century, BDSM activists have protested against these conceptual models, as they were derived from the philosophies of two singular historical figures. Both Freud and Krafft-Ebing were psychiatrists; their observations on sadism and masochism were dependent on psychiatric patients, and their models were built on the assumption of [[psychopathology]].<ref>Krueger & Kaplan 2001, p. 393: "The DSM nomenclature referring to sexual psychopathology has been criticized as being vague and not having undergone DSM field trials." ('''Note:''' "DSM" here is not related to "BDSM". It is the standard abbreviation for the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]]''.)</ref> BDSM activists{{Who|date=November 2014}} argue that it is illogical to attribute human behavioural phenomena as complex as sadism and masochism to the "inventions" of two historic individuals. Advocates of BDSM{{Who|date=November 2014}} have sought to distinguish themselves from widely held notions of antiquated psychiatric theory by the adoption of the term ''BDSM'' as a distinction from the now common usage of those psychological terms, abbreviated as ''S&M''.{{citation needed|date=November 2014}}