Markup View

Author: Xzenu

Jun 10th 2011 at 3:31:34 PM

!! So, it's all mixed together?

Some people combine all three parts, while others pick only one or two. It's a smorgasbord. Some people are masochists without being submissive, while some people are submissive without wanting pain to be a part of the deal at all. Of the people who enjoy both D&S and S&M, some enjoy each of them in their own right, while others enjoy one and only use the other to reinforce the experience.

Same goes for fetishism: There is no inherent connection between enjoying spanking and enjoying leather clothes, but the same subculture includes both.

!! How old is BDSM?

The sexualities currently categorized as BDSM are very old. Some of them probably older than mankind itself, since the instinct to dominate or submit is integrated into all social species. As for S & M, it's mentioned in the ancient Indian textbook Kama Sutra. Sexy ways of beating, scratching or biting each other gets a chapter each. Also, female dominance is mentioned in one chapter, as an interesting kink. Male dominance is not mentioned, since ancient India was patriarchal: Male dominance was taken for granted.

The social construct to categorize such things as "BDSM", on the other hand, is quite recent. The leather subculture started blooming up after WWII. After that came the concepts of B&D, D&S and S&M, which got merged into BDSM. The whole subculture is based on the concept sometimes called SafeSaneAndConsensual or Risk Awareness Consensual Kink. This reflects modern civilization's values of individualism, mutual respect and caring for each other.

The words Sadism and Masochism was originally only about the sexual variations included in BDSM. The words was invented by the 19:th century sexologist Kraft-Ebing. He derived the names from Marquis De Sade and Leopold von Sasher-Masoch, two aristocrats who was both authors of sadomasochistic pornography. De Sade wrote satires where he portrayed the authorities as horny hypocrites who oppressed the population, while Masoch wrote about his romantic desire to be dominated by a woman.

A century later, these words had picked up some quite different and quite negative meanings. "Sadism" was used as a generic slur for being a malicious JerkAss, while "masochism" was used as a similar slur to brand people as self-destructive. A popular excuse for refusing to help victims of DomesticAbuse was to brand them "masochists", implying that they merely pretended to not enjoy the beatings, just to get attention. These days, these creepy secondary meanings are losing power as ''actual'' sadism and masochism is becoming more and more socially accepted.

!! So, this whole thing about {{SSC}}...?
Most of it is covered under the useful notes page on UsefulNotes/{{Consent}}. However, safety is a huge field that is not covered there and will not be sufficiently covered here either. If you are interested, read [[http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Roses-Send-Thorns-Sadomasochism/dp/0964596008/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1307744116&sr=8-1 a book]] or two.

Generally speaking, BDSM is entirely free from risk of disease/infection and unwanted pregnancies, as long as you don't break the skin or combine it with intercourse. However, the people who practice it need to be careful with blood circulation, respiratory systems, and not hitting any vulnerable areas such as over the kidneys. Most importantly, don't use comic books and similar fiction as instruction manuals: See the CommonHollywoodSexTraits list.

!! What about BDSM in media and tropes?
There are three different things here. First, we have BDSM portrayed in media. Second, we have stuff that is not BDSM but is designed as sadomasochistic FetishFuel, based on RuleOfFun or RuleOfSexy. Third, we have that which is neither BDSM nor sexy, but is common in BDSM-play and/or inspired by the BDSM subculture.

As for BDSM portrayed in media, it usually comes down to CasualKink, BrainsAndBondage or BondageIsBad. Sometimes it gets the role of FreaksOfTheWeek. Tropes such as AbusivelySexy (with [[AbusivelySexyWoman sub]][[BastardBoyfriend tropes]]), BoundAndGagged and UnwillingSuspension are normally ''not'' portraying BDSM, although they are often used as a sadomasochistic kind of FetishFuelStationAttendant. Tropes such as SafeWord and SafeSaneAndConsensual are not about BDSM and not sexy either, from a BDSM point of view - but their relevance to RealLife BDSM play has inspired many situations in works of fiction - often situations that have nothing to do with BDSM and is not at all related to sexuality.