Psychology of BDSM Roles
BDSM stands for bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. BDSM has a different meaning to different people depending on their preferences. BDSM causes very intense feelings to the parties who practice it. BDSM does not always emerge from domestic violence as most people think, but it can be someone’s sexuality and lifestyle. In BDSM, the partners involved in the practice do not take equal roles in the activity. The terms submissive and dominant are used to define the roles played by the partners in the BDSM practice. On the male perspective, one male in the partnership plays the dominant role, and the submissive role is also played by another male. In dominance and submission behaviors, those who take the superior position are called the dominants while those who play a subordinate role are called submissive.
Male dominance is one of the earliest known forms of human inequality in relationships. In the BDSM activities where the dominant partner is a male, the male has the physical and mental control over the other partner in a relationship. A study has shown that many male dominants consumes a lot of alcohol and watch pornographic movies before or during sex (Wright, 2015). Some common male dominant behaviors are spanking their partners, hair pulling, facial slapping, and verbal abuse. Male dominance is common in most of today’s relationships where male partners control their partners. Researchers have suggested that many males prefer playing dominant roles in BDSM practices because of their genetic primate heritage. There various reasons that suggest why males in the society like to dominate in relationships. Most communities believe that males should dominate relationships to show their supremacy. In BDSM practices, male dominants control their partners in all aspects to prove their supremacy. Male dominants are considered as the “tops” in BDSM relationships where they get their pleasure by torturing their partners both sexually and emotionally.
Male submission occurs when in BDSM activities, the submissive partner is the male. The submissive partner enjoys the relationship by being controlled by the other partner and playing the inferior role in the relationship (Jackson, 2016). Male submission may take different forms including forced feminization, sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and facial slapping. Male submission is common in many Western countries where males play supportive roles in the relationship. Submissive males in BDSM relationships serve their partners and endures all the difficulties in the relationship. Submissive males play the “bottom” role in the relationship, and they are the receivers of the actions from their dominants. Submissive males in BDSM practices are psychologically tortured in the relationship.
In summary, BDSM involves bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism. Some people view BDSM activities as a form of violence, but BDSM causes intense feelings and pleasure to the people involved. In BDSM activities, the partners involved do not play equal roles in the relationship. Submissive and dominant are terms used to define the roles of partners in BDSM activities. Dominant males perform superior roles in the relationship. Submissive males get pleasure by being psychologically tortured by their dominant partners in BDSM relationships.