The acronym "BDSM" conjures pictures of leather-clad dominatrixes in high boots that are heeled submissive men by having a whip might to mind. That, or the novel that is erotic film franchise "Fifty Shades of Grey."
But BDSM, or bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, and sadism-masochism, is harder than that.
From choking ("breath play") to being tied up ("rigging") to being struck with various things ("impact pay"), BDSM can make reference to a wide range of kinks and fetishes. But at their root, sexual acts that are categorized as the BDSM all get one part of typical.
"this really is about consensual role-play and energy trade," said Phillip Hammack, teacher of therapy at University of California Santa Cruz,.
Despite BDSM being fully a consensual sexual powerful between grownups, it's been stigmatized over time, with individuals who participate in kink and fetish intercourse usually framed as freaks or intimate deviants. Read more