Glossary-BDSM Terminology

Saint Andrew's Cross

This is a piece of BDSM furniture made up of a cross set diagonally in the shape of an X. It restrains the subject in a standing spread-eagled.

Shibari

In Japanese, "Shibari" simply means "to tie". The contemporary meaning of Shibari describes an ancient Japanese artistic form of rope bondage.

BDSM

An overlapping abbreviation of Bondage and Discipline (BD), Dominance and Submission (DS), Sadism and Masochism (SM). A physical, psychological and usually sexual power-roleplay with consensual participants.

Sadistic/ Sadist

A person who enjoys being in pain and who derives sexual pleasure from hurting others. Anyone who tortures another human being is almost certainly a sadist. http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/

Masochist

The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused. The deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from being humiliated or mistreated, either by another or by oneself. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.

A Switch

A "switch" is a person who can take either role. A scene between two switches can involve trading off the dominant and submissive roles, possibly several times. In contrast, the terms "top" and "bottom" refer to the active (agent) and passive (patient) roles, respectively. In a given scene, there is no requirement that the dominant also be the top, or that the submissive be the bottom, although this is often the case.