Domination and submission

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Domination and Submission (also known as Dominance and submission, D&s, Ds or D/s) is a set of psychosexual behaviors, customs and rituals relating to the dominance of one individual over another. It is considered part of the BDSM group of paraphilias.

D/s is often referred to as the "mental" side of BDSM, as no physical contact is required. D/s partners sometimes even conduct a relationship over telephone or by email without ever even meeting or knowing each other's real names. In other cases it can be intensely physical, sometimes traversing into Sadomasochism.

In D/s, one takes pleasure or erotic enjoyment out of either dominating or being dominated. Those who take the superior position are called Doms (male) or Dommes (female), those who take the subordinate position are called subs or submissives (male or female). Submissives generally outnumber Dominants, with male subs outnumbering Dommes by the widest margin, often three to one or more. "Dominatrix" is a term usually reserved for a female Professional dominant who dominates others for pay. It should be noted that a Dominatrix is not a prostitute, and no sexual services are provided.

There can be any number of partners in a D/s relationship, with one Dominant sometimes having several subs, who may in turn dominate others. Relationships with multiple Dominants and a single submissive are rarer but still possible. Still, the most common combination is a single Dominant and submissive, often in an ongoing committed relationship. Romantic love is not necesarily a feature in D/s, partners can be very much in love or have no romantic relationship at all.

Variation in BDSM is virtually limitless and the activities take many forms, and may include servitude, verbal abuse, humiliation, consensual slavery and Sexual slavery and may be combined with other forms of BDSM in myriad combinations. Bootblacking is another form of D/s, where one person polishes and lavishes attention on another's footwear as an expression of submission. D/s participants often refer to their activity as "play", with an individual play session called a "scene".

Some D/s relationships are sexual, others completely chaste. Fantasy role play can also be a part, with partners taking classic dominant/submissive roles such as teacher/student, police officer/suspect or parent/child. Animal Play, where one partner takes the role of owner/caretaker and the other takes the part of a pet or animal, is also considered D/s play. Some people maintain a special room or area, called a Dungeon, which contains special equipment (E.g. shackles, handcuffs, whips, queening stool, spanking bench, etc.) used for play scenes. Or, they may visit a BDSM club that maintains such facilities.

Consent is a vital element in all psychological play, and consent can be granted in many ways. Some employ a written form known as a "Dungeon negotiation form", for others a simple verbal commitment is sufficient. Consent can be limited both in duration and content. It's not unusual to grant consent only for an hour or for a evening. Some "contracts" can get quite detailed, especially if a scene is to last a weekend or more.


Contents

Master/slave

In common D/s relationships the sub only submits occasionally and with definite short-term goals, perhaps for an evening or the duration of a party.

In longer, committed relationships many people opt for the Master/slave model, in which consent is negotiated once for a long period and the consent given is generally broader. Slave contracts are often negotiated for a one year term, but longer and shorter terms are possible, lifetime contracts are rare but not unknown. Where the contract is in effect continuously, the relationship is referred to as "24/7". The limits of the slave contract can vary widely and extend into other areas of BDSM. Some people opt to be purely "sex slaves", while others who prefer domestic service identify as "service slaves", others allow their Masters or Mistresses complete latitude as to the demands that can be placed on them. Such a relationship is known as "Total Power Exchange" or TPE.

People usually only enter into a Master/slave contract after they have known and played with each other for some time, often several years. It can be one of the most difficult relationships in the BDSM world to maintain, and requires special skills and experience.

It is important to remember that "slave contracts" are only an agreement between consenting people and are usually not legally binding; in fact, the possession of one may be considered illegal in some areas. Slave contracts are simply a way of defining the nature and limits of the relationship and not intended to carry legal force.

After a slave contract is drafted, some celebrate the event with a "collaring ceremony", in which the local D/s community is invited to witness the commitment made in the document. Some ceremonies become quite elaborate, and can be as involved as a wedding or any similar ritual.

Collars

A typical D/s "slave collar"

Many submissives and slaves wear a "collar" to denote their status and commitment. It can be much like a wedding band, except that only the submissive partner wears one. The traditional collar is a neck band in leather or metal, chosen, designed or even crafted by the Dominant partner. Some subs wear a "symbolic collar", often a bracelet or ankle chain, which is more subdued than the traditional collar and can pass in vanilla situations. It is not uncommon for a sub to have several collars for special occasions.

There was once a tradition that wearing a collar with an open padlock indicated that one was seeking a partner, a closed lock indicated that one was in a relationship. This symbolism is less common after 1995 or so.

It is important to remember that the punk rock and goth scenes have also adopted collars as a purely fashion item, so one cannot assume that all people wearing collars are into D/s or BDSM

Safety

Since D/s is more of a mental activity than a physical one, there is less physical risk. But one should be aware of one's mental health at all times and be wary of people who may take advantage of a D/s relationship. Especially be aware of Dom/mes who seek to isolate you from others in the community or who seek money or title to your property.

Dom/mes should also be concerned for their mental health, the strain of increased responsibility and the curse of "tops disease", a feeling of infallibility and omniscience. One should also be concerned about unstable subs who can cause financial or personal ruin with a trip to a lawyer or Police station.

History

Dominance and submission actually predate homo sapiens, and in fact it could be supposed that shortly after the second species of life evolved, one began to dominate the other.

But our concern here is D/s of an erotic nature, which can be hard to document especially in cultures where one gender or another is presumed dominant. It can be hard to tell if one submits because it is pleasurable or for more practical reasons, such as food and shelter.

Still there are many writings from the ancient age through the modern that would clearly indicate a willingness to submit for purely romantic reasons.

Geoffrey Chaucer (1342 - 1400) describes in his work "The Canterbury Tales" a clearly D/s relationship with a female dominant in "The Wife of Bath's Tale".

A somewhat later example is the institution of courtly love, a medieval ideal wherein a Knight served his courtly lady (love service) with the same obedience and loyalty which he owes to his liege lord. This act was definitely submissive, and sometimes became fetishistic, with the knight performing acts of cross-dressing and self-flagellation.

There are also accounts of prostitutes in most major cities that catered to male submissives, as well as masochists. In a male dominated world it was all too easy for a submissive woman to find a strict male dominant, but some women still found ways to leave husbands who were "too soft".

One of the most famous works in this area was Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's Venus im Pelz(Venus in Furs, 1869), in which the protagonist Severin entreats a woman, Wanda, to be her slave and offers to serve her and allow her to degrade him. The book has elements of both social and physical submission, and is the genesis of the term masochism coined by the 19th century psychiatrist Krafft-Ebing.

The Rolling Stones song "Under my Thumb" (M. Jagger, 1966) is supposedly about a D/s relationship.


Myths

Common myths about D/s-

  • Dominants are naturally cruel people
  • submissives are naturally weak-willed "doormats"
  • submissives are attempting to re-live childhood abuse
  • Women who are into D/s are nymphomaniacs, or indiscriminate sex partners
  • D/s is usually a case of "role-reversal" with people who have much power and responsibility in real life often preferring a submissive role.

There is little or no factual evidence to support any of these concepts; submissives and Dominants come from a broad spectrum of society and most people into BDSM are very selective about who they play with. Considering the risks, this is not surprising.

There is no evidence that people into D/s or BDSM have any greater history of childhood abuse than the general populace.

Literary Styles

It is popular, but by no means mandatory for persons in the BDSM world to capitalize words and names that refer to Dominants, and not to capitalize those that refer to submissives, hence the capitalization of D/s.

This convention began on internet Chatrooms, to make it easier to identify the orientation of the writer or the person being written about.

It is also popular for slaves and submissives to eschew personal pronouns, instead referring to "this slave" or "Master Bob's girl". This is seen as an attempt a modesty. It is entirely optional, and many consider it an affectation.

See also

Notable authors (fiction and non-fiction)

References and further reading

  • Gloria G. Brame, William D. Brame, and Jon Jacobs. Different Loving: An Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission Villard Books, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-679-40873-8
  • Jack Rinella "The Compleat Slave: Creating and Living an Erotic Dominant/Submissive Lifestyle" Daedelus publishing Co, 2002 ISBN 1-881943-13-5
  • Jack Rinella "The Master's Manual: A Handbook of Erotic Dominance" Daedelus Publushing Co. 1994 ISBN 1-881943-03-8
  • Guy Baldwin "SlaveCraft: Roadmaps for Erotic Servitude--Principles, Skills and Tools" Daedelus Publishing Co. 2002 ISBN 1-881943-14-3
  • Claudia Varrin "Art of Sensual Female Dominance: A Guide for Women" Birch Lane Press (April 1, 1998) ISBN 1559724471
  • Claudia Varrin "Erotic Surrender: The Sensual Joys of Female Submission" Citadel Press (March 1, 2001) ISBN 0806521813
  • Gloria G. Brame, William D. Brame, and Jon Jacobs. Different Loving: An Exploration of the World of Sexual Dominance and Submission Villard Books, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-679-40873-8
  • Philip Miller, Molly Devon, Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism, Mystic Rose Books, 1995. ISBN 0964596008.

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