Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM

BDSM is any of a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. The major subgroupings are described in the abbreviation "BDSM" itself:

• Bondage & discipline (B&D)
• Domination & submission (D&S)
• Sadism and masochism (or sadomasochism) (S&M)

Many of the specific practices in BDSM are those which, if performed in nonconsensual contexts, could be considered unpleasant, undesirable or abusive. For example, while pain, physical restraint and servitude are traditionally inflicted on persons, in BDSM, these activities are engaged in with the mutual consent of the participants, and typically for mutual enjoyment.

This emphasis on informed consent and safety is also known as SSC (safe, sane and consensual), though others prefer the term RACK (risk-aware consensual kink), believing that it places more emphasis on acknowledging the fact that all activities are potentially risky. There is discussion and dispute about the meaning or intent of the terms,^{[citation needed]} but in essence, both terms refer to all participants acknowledging and accepting some level of risk.

• BDSM may or may not involve sex of any kind.
• BDSM may or may not involve sexual roleplaying.
• How dominant or submissive a person may be in their regular life does not necessarily indicate which role they will play in a scene.
• Some BDSM players are polyamorous or sexually monogamous but engage in non-sexual play with others.
• A couple may engage in BDSM sexuality with an otherwise non-Dominant/submissive relationship dynamic.

  Physiology

On a physical level, BDSM "sensation play" often involves inflicting pain, even if without actual injury. This releases endorphins, creating a sensation somewhat like runner's high or the afterglow of orgasm, sometimes called "subspace", which many find enjoyable. Some use the term "body stress" to describe this physiological sensation. More eloquently, the philosopher Edmund Burke defines this sensation of pleasure derived from pain by the word sublime.^[1] The regions of the brain that manage sexual stimuli and pain overlap, resulting in some individuals associating pain with sexual pleasure as the neurological reactions are intertwined.

Various practices

BDSM encompasses the following practices:

• bastinado,
• breast bondage and breast-oriented BDSM,
• erotic spanking,
• fire play,
• flagellation such as flogging (see cat o' nine tails),
• medical submission (i.e. a submissive partner that submits to medical procedures which may or may not be humiliating and/or painful).
• paddling,
• movement restriction,
• sensory deprivation,
• Scatological humiliation,
• sensation play (i.e. the use of such objects as fur, ice, Wartenberg wheels, TENS devices, etc to induce desired sensations in the bottom),
• suspension,
• tickle torture (i.e. subjecting a very ticklish bottom to prolonged intense tickling)
• whipping (see bullwhip),

BDSM activities are practised by people of all sexualities. Many practise their BDSM activities exclusively in private, and do not share their predilections with others. Others socialize with other BDSM practitioners. One relatively new phenomenon is the practice of BDSM within the MMO Red Light Center in which users of the virtual reality software make use of avatars in the fully equipped dungeon and BDSM rooms to practice the activities on other live users in a virtual way.

The BDSM community can be regarded as a subculture within mainstream society. In some parts of the United States, being involved in a local BDSM community is referred to as being "in the lifestyle." There are BDSM communities with varying degrees of organization in all parts of the world. Large cities and small towns alike have organizations where BDSM participants meet to learn, share and practice. These groups are often underground and can be hard to find, but as society becomes more and more accepting, the groups are coming out of the closet. In the United States, some of these communities have even applied for and been granted 501(c) status as educational and community support groups.

A 1990 Kinsey Institute report stated that 5% to 10% of Americans occasionally engage in sexual activities related to BDSM. This was based on the 1983 "Playboy Readers Sex Survey" by Walter Lowe. There has been an explosive growth in the BDSM community since the 1983 study, which raises the possibility that the 1983 figures are unrepresentative of current behavior^{[citation needed]}.

Roles

In some kinds of BDSM play, the "top" (usually a dominant partner) applies sensation to the "bottom" (usually a submissive partner) by spanking, slapping, pinching, stroking or scratching with fingernails, or using implements like straps, whips, paddles, canes, knives, hot wax, ice, clothespins, bamboo skewers, etc. The sensation of being bound with rope, chains, straps, cling wrap, handcuffs or other materials can also be part of the experience. The tools of BDSM play encompass a wide variety of items from specifically designed implements to ordinary household items, known as "pervertibles."

A pleasurable BDSM experience is thought to depend greatly upon a competent top and the bottom attaining the correct state of mind. Trust and sexual arousal help a person prepare for the intense sensation. Some have even gone so far as to compare adept BDSM play to musical composition and performance, each sensation like a musical note. Likewise, different sensations are combined in different ways to produce the total experience.

Some sensations may be equated to different levels of bodywork and may have the same end result of causing emotional releases and other physical and psychological experiences. This experience is the motivation for many in the BDSM community but is not the only motivating factor. Indeed, a strong minority of BDSM participants (especially "submissives") may well participate in a scene that they do not derive any physical pleasure from. This is done in order to provide their dominant master or mistress with an opportunity to indulge their desires or fetishes.

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