Switch (BDSM)
Encyclopedia
In BDSM
, a switch is someone who participates in BDSM activities sometimes as a top
and other times as a bottom
or (in the case of dominance and submission) sometimes as a dominant and other times as a submissive. Partners may switch roles based on mood, desire, or to allow each partner to experience their preferred activity. For example, a switch may be in a relationship with someone of the same primary BDSM orientation (e.g., two dominants), so switching provides each partner with an opportunity to realize his or her BDSM needs.
It is also common for people to switch with different partners, such as when a person acts exclusively as a top with one partner and exclusively as a bottom with another.
The act of "switching" may also refer to a spontaneous reversal of roles, initiated by either the bottom or the top.
A person who engages in self-bondage
can be viewed as taking both roles simultaneously.
There can sometimes be found a lingering prejudice in some local BDSM communities against switches and switching, while at the same time it gains increased acceptance in other local communities. Like bisexuality, identification as a switch is sometimes erroneously construed as "sitting on the fence," or being indecisive about one's kink orientation. Fetlife
, a kink-related social networking site, says there are many people who enjoy satisfying both the Dominant and submissive (or Top and bottom) facets of their personal make-up, and who refuse to sacrifice one for the other.
BDSM
BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...
, a switch is someone who participates in BDSM activities sometimes as a top
Top (BDSM)
In BDSM, a top or dominant is the partner in a BDSM relationship or in a BDSM scene who takes the active or controlling role over that of the bottom or submissive partner....
and other times as a bottom
Bottom (BDSM)
In BDSM, a bottom or submissive is the partner in a BDSM relationship or a BDSM scene who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or dominant....
or (in the case of dominance and submission) sometimes as a dominant and other times as a submissive. Partners may switch roles based on mood, desire, or to allow each partner to experience their preferred activity. For example, a switch may be in a relationship with someone of the same primary BDSM orientation (e.g., two dominants), so switching provides each partner with an opportunity to realize his or her BDSM needs.
It is also common for people to switch with different partners, such as when a person acts exclusively as a top with one partner and exclusively as a bottom with another.
The act of "switching" may also refer to a spontaneous reversal of roles, initiated by either the bottom or the top.
A person who engages in self-bondage
Self-bondage
Self-bondage refers to the use of restraints on oneself for sexual pleasure. It is a form of sexual bondage which can be practiced alone.Self-bondage is characterized by experimentation and ingenuity, and can be riskier than conventional bondage...
can be viewed as taking both roles simultaneously.
There can sometimes be found a lingering prejudice in some local BDSM communities against switches and switching, while at the same time it gains increased acceptance in other local communities. Like bisexuality, identification as a switch is sometimes erroneously construed as "sitting on the fence," or being indecisive about one's kink orientation. Fetlife
Fetlife
FetLife is a social networking website that serves people interested in BDSM, fetishism and kink. It describes itself as similar to Facebook and MySpace but run by and for fetish enthusiasts. It is also private in that membership is required to view content, although since membership is free the...
, a kink-related social networking site, says there are many people who enjoy satisfying both the Dominant and submissive (or Top and bottom) facets of their personal make-up, and who refuse to sacrifice one for the other.
Literature
- Jay WisemanJay WisemanJay Wiseman is an American BDSM writer and speaker.In 1991, Wiseman started the Greenery Press publishing house with his partner Janet Hardy, author "Lady Green" of The Sexually Dominant Woman...
: SM 101: A Realistic Introduction. Greenery Press (CA) 1998, ISBN 0-9639763-8-9 - Phillip Miller, Molly Devon, William A. Granzig: Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism. Mystic Rose Books 1995, ISBN 0-9645960-0-8
- William A. HenkinWilliam A. HenkinDr. William A. Henkin Phd, is a San Francisco, California based licensed marriage and family therapist , and a Board Certified Sex Therapist and Clinical Supervisor...
, Sybil Holiday, Consensual Sadomasochism : How to Talk About It and How to Do It Safely, Daedalus PublishingDaedalus PublishingDaedalus Publishing is an American publisher of erotic literature based in Los Angeles, California. Subjects range from leathersex to alternative sexual practices, such as BDSM...
, 1996. ISBN 1881943127. - Breslow, Norman: SM Research Report, v1.1, 1999
- Janus, Samuel S. / Janus, Cynthia L., 1993 The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior, Wiley, New York
- Thomas S. Weinberg: S&M – Studies in Dominance and Submission (Ed.), Prometheus Books, New York, 1995 ISBN 0-8797-5-978-X
- Robert Bienvenu, The Development of Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style in the Twentieth-Century United States, 2003, Online PDF under Sadomasochism as a Cultural Style
- Charles Moser, in Journal of Social Work and Human Sexuality 1988, (7;1, P.43-56)
- Gloria G. Brame, BDSM/Fetish Sex:Overview and Study, online gloria-brame.com
See also
- Top (BDSM)Top (BDSM)In BDSM, a top or dominant is the partner in a BDSM relationship or in a BDSM scene who takes the active or controlling role over that of the bottom or submissive partner....
- Bottom (BDSM)Bottom (BDSM)In BDSM, a bottom or submissive is the partner in a BDSM relationship or a BDSM scene who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or dominant....
- Dominant
- submissive
- Top and bottom in sex and BDSMTop and bottom in sex and BDSMIn human sexuality, the terms top, bottom, and versatile describe roles during sexual intercourse, particularly among gay and bisexual men. A top is a person who penetrates, a bottom is one who receives penetration, and a versatile engages in both activities...
- Female dominanceFemale dominanceFemale dominance is those BDSM relationships and BDSM scenes in which the dominant partner is female. Often a dominant woman, she may prefer to be called a Domme , Femdomme, Domina, or Dominatrix, depending on context or personal preference...
- Male dominanceMale dominanceMale dominance, or maledom, refers to BDSM activities where the dominant partner is male.Maledom scenarios are common in BDSM fiction, including works such as the Story of O and the works of John Norman and Adrian Hunter...
- Dominance and submission (BDSM)
- Sadomasochism