PukkaBDSM

Dominance is the exercise of power or influence over others. It can simply be role-play, where one partner is consensually empowered to dominate while the other adopts the part of the submissive for the limited purpose of sexual games. Some people are by nature dominant, needing to be in control in any situation, while others are more naturally submissive, willing to be surrendered to someone else’s control. Most people are a bit of both at various times, depending on their mood and the requirements of work or society.

However in some cases the underlying need to dominate or submit is unusually pronounced, and often such people are drawn to BDSM where the power-exchange of Domination and submission forms the basis of relationships in a way that is more explicit and over than anywhere else in “normal life” and “normal people” relationships. Although the words Dominant and its contraction, Dom can refer to either gender they are most commonly reserved for men while a female dominant would be called a Domme, Domina, or Dominatrix. A person who enjoys playing both roles is called a switch.