Ten questions about BDSM

by WhipMaster

1- What is BDSM?

BDSM is the acronym for Bondage, Discipline, Dominance, Submission, Sadism, and Masochism. That is, six distinct concepts condensed into four initials, meaning that D and S have double value.

It is an alternative form of sexuality. A different way of seeking pleasure, beyond conventional sex, which can be extraordinarily rewarding.

BDSM encompasses various practices that are often interconnected, responding to deeply-rooted (though often repressed) sexual fantasies. They mainly consist of the pursuit of erotic pleasure through games that combine Dominance/submission, stimulation through pain, bondage, fetishism, etc.

Since these practices involve some risks, they must always be carried out with the full consent of the partner and in a conscious, sensible, and safe manner. If not, it is not BDSM.

The BDSM concept is broader than other traditionally established terms like sadism, SM (sadomasochism, sado-maso), or D/s (Dominance/submission), which are still used.

2- Can you tell me more about BDSM practices?

As I mentioned, BDSM practices respond to deeply-rooted sexual fantasies. Fantasy is the raw material of BDSM. Imagine the erotic potential of a smack on the butt at the right moment or how exciting it can be to make love with blindfolded eyes or with your partner handcuffed. These types of games are not BDSM in themselves but can lead to it.

One of the main BDSM practices is bondage and its exquisite Japanese variant, kinbaku or shibari. It is the fantasy of handcuffs taken to the highest refinement. There are people capable of creating true wonders by tying ropes around their partner's body. And of course, there are those who enjoy satisfying their partner's desires while they remain bound, immobilized, or with restricted movements.

One meaning of “to discipline” is to whip, and a discipline is a tool used for whipping. Thus, when we talk about discipline, we are primarily referring to spanking and erotic flagellation, which in English is referred to as spanking, allowing for a wide range of intensities that can be practiced with hands, a shoe, a belt, a whip, or a wide variety of objects. Imagination knows no bounds. For a large majority of people, one or a few gentle smacks are more than sufficient to generate erotic stimulation. However, there are also people who seek stronger stimuli.

SM, sadism and masochism, sadomasochism, refer precisely to those practices that pursue stimulation and the search for pleasure through mortification or pain (the same spankings, bites, the application of clamps to the nipples, dripping wax on the body, etc.). I emphasize something very important: in BDSM, pain is a means to achieve pleasure, not an end in itself.

One of the most typical and clichéd images that many people commonly associate with “sado” is that of a submissive man...