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Reference.org
Dominance and submission
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<p>Dominance and submission (D/s) is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or <a href="/facts/Lifestyle_(sociology)/XVb7A8lN">lifestyle</a>. It is a subset of <a href="/facts/BDSM/htzW8TxT">BDSM</a>. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has been shown to please a minority of people. </p><p>Physical contact is not necessary, and D/s can be conducted anonymously over the telephone, email, or other messaging systems. In other cases, it can be intensely physical, sometimes crossing into <a href="/facts/Sadomasochism/7qLnTWWC">sadomasochism</a>. In D/s, both parties take pleasure or erotic enjoyment from either dominating or being dominated. Those who take the superior position are called <i>dominants</i>—<i>Doms</i> (regardless of gender) or <i><a href="/facts/Female_domination/mv8nVa7w">Dommes</a></i> (female)—while those who take the subordinate position are called <i>submissive</i>, or <i>subs</i>. A <i>switch</i> is an individual who plays either role. Two switches together may negotiate and exchange roles several times in a session. The term <i><a href="/facts/Dominatrix/mv8nVa7w">dominatrix</a></i> usually refers to a female <a href="/facts/Sex_worker/uGCLYAuV">sex worker</a> who dominates others for pay while the term <i><a href="/facts/Male_dominance_(BDSM)/vAMDtXzr">maledom</a></i> is used for a sexually dominant male in BDSM practices. </p>