WIITWD is an acronym in the alternative sexualities community for "What it is that we do". It is also sometimes written WIIWD (What it is we do). It is intended to include all activities that the mainstream would consider "Kinky

Kinky

Kinky may refer to:*Kinky , a five-member band from Monterrey, Mexico**Kinky , their self-titled album*Kinky *Kink , unconventional sexual practices...

".

The term was developed in Usenet

Usenet

Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...

 newsgroup

Newsgroup

A usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users in different locations. The term may be confusing to some, because it is usually a discussion group. Newsgroups are technically distinct from, but functionally similar to, discussion forums on...

s when individuals pointed out that the popular term BDSM

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...

 applied to only a fraction of the community. Some people, such as those solely into infantilism or
cross-dressing

Cross-dressing

Cross-dressing is the wearing of clothing and other accoutrement commonly associated with a gender within a particular society that is seen as different than the one usually presented by the dresser...

 do not get involved at all in the bondage

Bondage (BDSM)

Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...

, D/s or sadomasochism scenes, and as such reject the label BDSM, but still consider themselves part of the alternative community. Many also eschew the terms "fetish

Sexual fetishism

Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...

" or "kink".

So, in an attempt to be all-inclusive, the term "WIITWD" was developed and has enjoyed some popularity.

The term is purposely vague and broad, and many are not satisfied with it for that very reason. It has been said that nearly any sexual activity could be included under the acronym. The general policy, therefore, is to use WIITWD only in rare cases where there is a need to refer to the broadest possible group.

History

The earliest recorded mention of WIITWD is in the Usenet

Usenet

Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...

 group alt.sex.bondage by Steven Davis, January 9, 1995, in a summary/critique of writer Jon Jacobs' theories about what was and wasn't "real" kink. Davis explicitly attributes the term to another poster named Bill Bohrer.

"JJ believes that most people who are interested in what he calls D&S, what I call 'our thing' and Bill Borher calls wiitwd (what it is that we do) and most people on ASB call BDSM, are interested in power exchange. Though people tend to think of power exchange in terms of the DS component of BDSM, it can occur within any kind of encounter in which one person cedes power to another."