Playing on the Edge: Sadomasochism, Risk, and Intimacy

Glossary

Glossary 203 Glossary dominant/submissive (dom/sub) Noun or adjective used most commonly to connote people who play with psychological/emotional dominance; often frequently incorporates physical/sexual power exchange (femsub—female submissive, maledom—male dominant, etc.). dungeon A type of club or play space (or sometimes merely another name for a club) that is designated for SM play. flogger A whip, usually but not always made of leather, consisting of one handle to which multiple flat strands (“falls”) are attached. kinky Having an interest in, or relation to, sexual activity outside of mainstream , conventional conceptualizations of sexuality. play As a verb, to engage in a scene; as a noun, the engaging in a scene or scenes, in general. play space Any area understood to be acceptable for engaging in scenes. quirt A short, forked whip with two falls. safeword A signal given by the submissive or bottom to end the scene. Many people also have safewords to slow the scene down, or to stop a particular action while remaining in scene. It is also used as a verb. scene A (usually) pre-negotiated erotic power exchange; participants agree on the type of scene and on limits before engaging in SM activity. This agreement may be explicit (even written), or implicit, in the case of long-term or previous scene partners. The word is also used to refer to the SM community in general. 203 204 Glossary singletail A long whip with one tail. As a verb, it means to whip someone using a whip with one tail. switch As a noun, someone who tops and bottoms; as a verb, to change between topping and bottoming. top/bottom Used in both noun and verb forms, and refers most often to physical SM activity, as opposed to dominance/submission, but, as nouns, are less identity-focused than “sadist” and “masochist.” vanilla Used most commonly to refer to activities, events, and/or people that are not SM-related. However, is sometimes less broadly applied to people/ events/activities that are not “kinky,” regardless of whether SM is their particular kink. Wartenberg wheel A handheld stainless steel instrument, originally designed to test neurological responses on skin. The handle is usually approximately six inches long, and at its end sits a sharply spiked wheel (akin to a pizza cutter with longer spikes). ...