Editing Dominatrix (section)

==Terminology and etymology==
''Dominatrix'' is the feminine form of the [[Latin]] ''dominator'', a ruler or lord, and was originally used in a non-sexual sense. Its use in English dates back to at least 1561. Its earliest recorded use in the prevalent modern sense, as a female dominant in [[sadomasochism]], dates to 1961.<ref name=Seves>Pérez Seves, ''Eric Stanton & the History of the Bizarre Underground'', p. 120.</ref> It was initially coined to describe a woman who provides punishment-for-pay as one of the case studies within Bruce Roger's pulp paperback ''The Bizarre Lovemakers''.<ref>Rogers, Bruce (1967) "The Bizarre Lovemakers" cited in {{harvp|Nomis|2013|p=131}}.</ref> The term was taken up shortly after by the Myron Kosloff title ''Dominatrix'' (with art by [[Eric Stanton]]) in 1968, and entered more popular mainstream knowledge following the 1976 film ''Dominatrix Without Mercy''.<ref>{{harvp|Nomis|2013|p=132}}</ref>

The term ''domme'' is likely a coined pseudo-French feminine inflection of the slang ''dom'' (short for ''dominant''). The use of ''domme'', ''dominatrix'', ''dom'', or ''dominant'' by any woman in a dominant role is chosen mostly by personal preference and the conventions of the local BDSM scene.<ref>{{harvp|Easton|Hardy|2002|p=iii}}: "Semantics vary widely throughout the kinky world, from one region to the next, one sexual orientation to the next, one playstyle to the next."</ref> The term '''mistress''' or '''dominant mistress''' is sometimes also used. Female dominance (also known as '''female domination''' or femdom) is a BDSM activity in which the dominant partner is female. However, while the term ''mistress'' is often used in the media and by paid professional dominatrices and their submissives, members of the BDSM community often avoid it. This is because it can be confused with ''[[mistress (lover)|mistress]]'' in the sense of a woman who has an illicit relationship with a married man, a term which has the negative implication of cheating on a partner. Since there is a large overlap between the BDSM and [[polyamory]] communities, where ethical conduct is a prime concern, any such relationship is a source of disapproval.

Although the term ''dominatrix'' was not used, the classic example in literature of the female dominant-male submissive relationship is portrayed in the 1870 novella ''[[Venus in Furs]]'' by Austrian writer [[Leopold von Sacher-Masoch]]. The term ''[[Sadomasochism|masochism]]'' was later derived from the author's name by [[Richard von Krafft-Ebing]] in the latter's 1886 forensic study ''[[Psychopathia Sexualis (Richard von Krafft-Ebing book)|Psychopathia Sexualis]]''.