Editing Dominatrix (section)

==Professional dominatrices==
{{Anchor|Professional}}[[File:Femdom at Eros Pyramide.jpg|thumb|240px|A professional dominatrix and a submissive male perform for the audience at a [[sex show]] in Austria.]]

The term ''dominatrix'' is mostly used to describe a female professional dominant (or "pro-domme") who is paid to engage in [[play (BDSM)|BDSM play]] with a submissive. Professional dominatrices are not prostitutes, despite the sensual and erotic interactions they have.{{sfn|Lindemann|2010}} An appointment or roleplay is referred to as a "session", and is often conducted in a dedicated professional play space which has been set up with specialist equipment, known as a "dungeon".{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|pages=2–3}} Sessions may also be conducted remotely by letter or telephone, or in the contemporary era of technological connectivity by email, online chat or platforms such as [[OnlyFans]]. Most, but not all, clients of female professional dominants are men. Male professional dominants also exist, catering predominantly to the gay male market.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

Women who engage in female domination typically promote and title themselves under the terms "dominatrix", "mistress", "lady", "madame", "{{lang|de|herrin|italic=unset}}" (German for "mistress") or "goddess". In a study of German dominatrices, Andrew Wilson said that the trend for dominatrices choosing names aimed at creating and maintaining an atmosphere in which class, femininity and mystery are key elements of their self-constructed identity.<ref>{{harvp|Wilson|2005|p=40}}</ref>

Some professional dominatrices set minimum age limits for their clients. Popular requests from clients are for dungeon play including [[Bondage (BDSM)|bondage]], [[spanking]] and [[cock and ball torture]], or for [[medical fetishism|medical play]] using hoods, gas masks and [[urethral sounding]].<ref name=Dublin>{{cite news|title=Making men's fantasies a reality: The life of a professional dominatrix in Dublin|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-dominatrix-2878270-Dec2016/|work=The Journal|location=Ireland|date=December 2016|access-date=22 May 2018|archive-date=23 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523095332/http://www.thejournal.ie/dublin-dominatrix-2878270-Dec2016/|url-status=live}}</ref> Verbal [[erotic humiliation]], such as [[small penis humiliation]], is also popular.<ref>{{cite web|title=What You Learn About Masculinity from Making Fun of Men's Small Dicks for a Living|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/small-penis-humiliation-masculinity-trump/|author=Margaret Corvid|date=28 August 2016|work=Vice|access-date=25 September 2018|archive-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925142224/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9b8aw3/small-penis-humiliation-masculinity-trump|url-status=live}}</ref> There are some professional dominatrices that engage in sexual contact activities such as [[facesitting]], [[handjob]]s or [[fellatio]] but others disapprove of this.{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|p=196}} Other BDSM activities can include various forms of [[body worship]], such as [[foot worship]], ass worship, breast worship{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|p=28}} and pussy worship;{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|p=202}} [[tease and denial]]; corporal punishment including [[breast torture]], [[caning]], [[whipping]]; [[orgasm denial]]; and as well as face slapping, hair pulling, [[wax play|dripping hot wax on the genitals]], spitting, [[Urolagnia|golden showers]], "forced" [[Chastity belt (BDSM)|chastity]], cock and ball torture, and pussy torture.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

It is not unusual for a dominatrix to consider her profession different from that of an [[Call girl|escort]] and not perform [[tie and tease]] or "[[Erotic massage#Commercial erotic and sexual massage|happy endings]]". Typically professional dominatrices do not have sexual intercourse with their clients, do not become naked with their clients<ref name=Dublin/> and do not allow their clients to touch them.<ref>{{cite news|title='My wish is to serve you': A dominatrix reveals her clients' most intimate fantasies|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-wish-is-to-serve-you-a-dominatrix-reveals-her-clients-most-intimate-fantasies-9083506.html|newspaper=Independent|date=26 January 2014|access-date=22 May 2018|archive-date=23 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523095349/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/my-wish-is-to-serve-you-a-dominatrix-reveals-her-clients-most-intimate-fantasies-9083506.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Fees charged by dominatrices are typically significantly higher than those charged by prostitutes.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deviant Behaviour: Readings in the Sociology of Norm Violations|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEBsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA384|editor-first=Clifton D.|editor-last=Bryant|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2014|isbn=9781317770541|page=384}}</ref> The Canadian dominatrix [[Terri-Jean Bedford]], who was one of three women who initiated an application in the [[Ontario Superior Court]] seeking invalidation of Canada's laws regarding [[brothel]]s, sought to differentiate for clarity her occupation as a dominatrix rather than a [[prostitute]] to the media, due to frequent misunderstanding and conflation by the public of the two terms.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canadian prostitution law|work=The World|publisher=PRI|url=http://www.theworld.org/2010/09/29/canadian-prostitution-law/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004182757/http://www.theworld.org/2010/09/29/canadian-prostitution-law/|date=29 September 2010|archive-date=4 October 2010|type= Includes transcript of discussion between Lisa Mullins and Terri-Jean Bedford}}</ref>

That being said, it is now generally accepted that a professional dominatrix is a sex worker, and many of the acts conducted during a session may be interpreted as equally sexual to the participants.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-03-07 |title=Domenica Niehoff: Prostitute and social activist who campaigned for |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/domenica-niehoff-prostitute-and-social-activist-who-campaigned-for-the-legalisation-of-her-profession-1639293.html |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Thistlethwaite |first=Felicity |date=2015-11-26 |title=Will YOU take relationship and sex advice from our sexpert ex-dominatrix? |url=https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/622201/sex-relationship-tips-dominatrix-love |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=Express.co.uk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roig |first=Estel Farell |date=2021-11-09 |title=Young woman working as a Dominatrix says what the job is really like |url=https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/young-woman-working-dominatrix-reveals-6174975 |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=BristolLive |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Mens Health |date=2021-05-01 |title="I'm A Dominatrix, And Here's How I Can Help You Have Better Sex" |url=https://www.menshealth.com.au/im-a-dominatrix-and-heres-how-i-can-help-you-have-better-sex/ |access-date=2022-08-16 |website=Men's Health Magazine Australia |language=en-AU}}</ref>

While dominatrices come from many different backgrounds, it has been shown that a considerable number are well-educated. Research into US dominatrices published in 2012 indicated that 39% of the sample studied had received some sort of graduate training.{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|p=187}}

A 1985 study suggested that about 30 percent of participants in BDSM subculture were female.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01550846 |title=On the prevalence and roles of females in the sadomasochistic subculture: Report of an empirical study |year=1985 |last1=Breslow |first1=Norman |last2=Evans |first2=Linda |last3=Langley |first3=Jill |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=303–17 |pmid=4051718|s2cid=31730499 }}</ref> A 1994 report indicated that around a quarter of the women who took part in BDSM subculture did so professionally.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01541410 |title=The prevalence and some attributes of females in the sadomasochistic subculture: A second report |year=1994 |last1=Levitt |first1=Eugene E. |last2=Moser |first2=Charles |last3=Jamison |first3=Karen V. |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=23 |issue=4 |pages=465–73 |pmid=7993186|s2cid=28743901 }}</ref> In a 1995 study of Internet [[discussion group]] messages, the preference for the dominant-initiator role was expressed by 11% of messages by heterosexual women, compared to 71% of messages by heterosexual men.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1007/BF01542185 |title=Sexual bondage: A review and unobtrusive investigation |year=1995 |last1=Ernulf |first1=Kurt E. |last2=Innala |first2=Sune M. |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=631–54 |pmid=8572912|s2cid=6495515 }}</ref>

Professional dominatrices can be seen advertising their services online and in print publications which carry erotic services advertising, such as [[contact magazine]]s and [[fetish magazine]]s that specialise in female domination.{{sfn|Lindemann|2012|p=42}} The precise number of women actively offering professional domination services is unknown. Most professional dominatrices practice in large metropolitan cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and London, with as many as 200 women working as dominatrices in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web |last=Black |first=Tony |title=Dominatrix Directory: Los Angeles – Star Pro-Dommes |url=http://fetpro.com/dominatrix-directory-los-angeles-stars/ |access-date=12 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312224343/http://fetpro.com/dominatrix-directory-los-angeles-stars/ |archive-date=12 March 2014}}</ref>

Professional dominatrices may take pride or differentiation in their psychological insight into their clients' [[sexual fetishism|fetishes]] and desires, as well as their technical ability to perform complex BDSM practices, such as [[Japanese bondage|Japanese shibari]], head-scissoring,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pinsky|first1=Dina|last2=Levey|first2=Tania G.|date=2015-03-04|title='A world turned upside down': Emotional labour and the professional dominatrix|journal=Sexualities|volume=18|issue=4|pages=438–458|doi=10.1177/1363460714550904|s2cid=145653198|issn=1363-4607}}</ref> and other forms of bondage, [[Suspension bondage|suspension]], [[Cock and ball torture (sexual practice)|torture]] roleplay, and [[corporal punishment]], and other such practices which require a high degree of knowledge and competency to safely oversee. From a sociological point of view, [[Danielle Lindemann]] has stated the "embattled purity regime" in which many pro-dommes emphasise their specialist knowledge and professional skills, while distancing themselves from economic criteria for success, in a way which is comparable to avant-garde artists.<ref>{{harvp|Lindemann|2010}}</ref>

Some dominatrices practice [[financial domination]], or findom, a fetish in which a submissive is aroused by sending money or gifts to a dominatrix at her instruction. In some cases the dominatrix is given control of the submissive's finances or a "blackmail" scenario is acted out. In the majority of cases the dominatrix and the submissive do not physically meet. The interactions are typically performed using the Internet, which is also where such services are advertised. Findom was originally a niche service that a traditional dominatrix would offer, but it has become popular with less-experienced online practitioners.<ref>{{cite news|title=What is Findom? A Submissive Man Explains the Fetish|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/findom-what-is-it-financial-domination-definition-explained-a7646931.html|newspaper=The Independent|location=UK|author=Rachel Hosie|date=24 March 2017|access-date=13 March 2018|archive-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313215658/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/findom-what-is-it-financial-domination-definition-explained-a7646931.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

To differentiate women who identify as a dominatrix but do not offer paid services, non-professional dominants are occasionally referred to as a "lifestyle" dominatrix or Mistress. The term "lifestyle" to signify BDSM is occasionally a contention topic in the BDSM community and that some dominatrices may dislike the term. Some professional dominatrices are also "lifestyle" dominatrices—i.e., in addition to paid sessions with submissive clients they engage in unpaid recreational sessions or may incorporate power exchange within their own private lives and relationships.<ref>Williams, Holly (2011)  "Unleashed: The secret world of Britain's Dominatrixes" in [https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/fantasies-fetishes/unleashed-the-secret-world-of-britains-dominatrixes-6263209.html The Independent, 20 November 2011] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825220252/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/fantasies-fetishes/unleashed-the-secret-world-of-britains-dominatrixes-6263209.html |date=25 August 2017 }}</ref> However, the term has fallen out of general usage with respect to women who are dominant in their private relationships, and has taken on more and more the connotation of "professional". Nathalie Lugand in her 2023 book "A Psychodynamic Approach to Female Domination in BDSM Relationships" describes this strict separation as artificial.