What is BDSM?
By Mara Vale · Reviewed by Elena Ward · Last updated
BDSM is an umbrella term for Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadism and Masochism: consensual adult play built on power exchange and intense sensation.
BDSM in context
The acronym bundles three overlapping pairs. Bondage and discipline cover restraint and rules, dominance and submission cover who leads, and sadism and masochism cover giving and receiving intensity. Most people enjoy only a few elements, not all of them.
What separates BDSM from abuse is consent: limits are agreed beforehand, a safe word can stop the scene at any time, and aftercare follows. In AI roleplay the same principles apply to the story, while nothing physical happens at all.
Read more: AI BDSM chat
Related terms
- FemdomFemdom, short for female domination, is a dynamic in which a woman takes the dominant role and leads the scene while her partner submits.
- Power ExchangePower exchange is the consensual transfer of control from a submissive to a dominant, either for a single scene or as an ongoing arrangement.
- Safe WordA safe word is a pre-agreed word that immediately pauses or ends a scene, regardless of what is happening in the roleplay.
- SSC and RACKSSC (Safe, Sane and Consensual) and RACK (Risk-Aware Consensual Kink) are two widely used ethical frameworks for practising BDSM.