BDSM is a blanket term referring to the practice of a wide spectrum of activities and forms of interpersonal relationships. While not always overtly sexual in nature, the activities and relationships within a BDSM context are almost always eroticized by the participants in some fashion. As many of these practices fall outside of commonly held social norms, they may be viewed as a form of sexual fetishism, although activities and interpersonal relationships are also eroticized in this fashion, and not merely objects.
Many activities can be found under the umbrella of BDSM, which include - but are not limited to - forms of social dominance, submission, discipline, punishment, bondage, sexual roleplaying, sexual fetishism, sadomasochism, and power exchange, as well as the full spectrum of mainstream personal and sexual interactions.
The term BDSM itself is a complex acronym derived from the terms bondage and discipline (B&D), domination and submission (D&S, D/S, or Ds), sadism and masochism (S&M or SM).[1]
While some BDSM activities may appear to be violent or coercive, such activities are conducted with the consent of all partners involved. BDSM is not a form of sexual abuse. BDSM relationships and practices are exercised under the philosophy of "Safe, sane and consensual" (SSC), or the somewhat more liberal philosophy of "Risk-aware consensual kink" (RACK).[2]
Activities and relationships within a BDSM context are characterized by the fact that the participants usually take on complimentary, but unequal, roles. Typically, participants who are active – applying the activity or exercising control over others – are known as Tops or Dominants. Those participants which are recipients of the activities, or who are controlled by their partners, are typically known as Bottoms or Submissives.[3]
BDSM is often practiced within the context of a limited and defined encounter know as a BDSM scene. Such scenes often have a ritual aspects, complete with modes of behavior, forms of address, codes of conduct, dress codes, and many other aspects of theater and role playing.