Editing Dominance and submission (section)

==Terminology==
{{Main|Glossary of BDSM}}
[[File:Nude pet slave girl.jpg|thumb|A dominant male publicly parades a nude submissive female using [[leash]] tied to her, [[Folsom Street Fair]], 2013]]

[[BDSM]] is the sexual practices of bondage and pain/torture , dominant and submissive, as well as sadomasochism.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" />

D/s participants often refer to their activity as "play", with an individual play session being called a "scene". In addition to "dominant" and "submissive" a "switch" is a person who can take either role.<ref name=":5" /> The dominant and submissive relations pertain to two people who play with psychological, emotional, and/or physical dominance. Most of the time in sexual relationships like this there is some sort of power exchange through their physical interaction'''.'''<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk, and Intimacy|last=Newmahr|first=Staci|year=2011|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=9780253355973|oclc=802887067}}</ref> A scene between two switches can involve trading off the dominant and submissive roles, possibly several times. In contrast, the terms ''top'' and ''bottom'' refer to the active ([[Agent (grammar)|agent]]) and passive ([[Patient (grammar)|patient]]) roles, respectively. In a given scene, there is no requirement that the dominant also be the top, or that the submissive be the bottom, although this is often the case.

The term vanilla  refers to normative ("non-[[Kink (sexuality)|kinky]]") sex and relationships, the vanilla world being mainstream society outside of the BDSM subculture. The term comes from vanilla ice cream being considered the "default" flavor.<ref name=":1" />

The term ''power exchange'' refers to the empowerment of the dominant by the submissive's surrender to his/ her control. Power exchange is consensual and in reality, it is the submissive that has the underlying control during the relationship exchange. The dominant is attempting to satisfy the submissive's kinks and desires.<ref name=":3" />

The terms ''top'' and ''bottom'' are used as verbs or nouns to describe the physical play of SM but with less of a focus of the "sadist" and "masochist" part of the activity. They can be used as synonyms for ''dominant'' and ''submissive''.<ref name=":1" />

The term ''dungeon'' is used as a reference to a space/room designated for sadomasochism play. It can also be used to describe a club where these activities take place. It can also be a place to practice kinks safely and learn how to carry out activities and play.<ref name=":1" />

The term ''dungeon monitors'' is used as a description of well-trusted BDSM members that volunteer to monitor dungeons and look out for infractions, distress, or any other form of misconduct or non-consent.<ref name=":0" />

The term ''flogger'' is used to describe a tool or whip used in sexual scenes. The action of flogging refers to impact play. Usually made of leather with a hard handle and multiple long flat strands attached. The term can also be used to describe the person holding the specialized whip.<ref name=":1" />

===Linguistic conventions===
Some people in the D/s world capitalize words and names that refer to dominants, and do not capitalize those that refer to submissives, hence the capitalization of D/s; others do not. It was popularized in internet chatrooms, to make it easier to identify the orientation of the writer or the person being written about.

Also, some submissives eschew personal pronouns, instead referring to themselves as "this slave" or "Master Bob's girl". This is sometimes considered an expression of modesty, but it is an entirely optional method of depersonalizing a submissive during "play". It may have roots in the [[military]], where new recruits are required to refer to themselves as "this recruit", rather than "I" or "me".