BDSM is the collective term commonly used in specialist literature today for a group of related sexual preferences that are often referred to more vaguely as sadomasochism (SM for short): SM or sado-maso). Other possible terms for BDSM include leather sex or kinky sex.

The term BDSM, which is made up of the first letters of the English terms „Bondage & Discipline, Dominance & Submission, Sadism & Masochism“, describes a very diverse group of mostly sexual behaviors that can be associated with dominance and submission, playful punishment, pleasure pain or bondage games, among other things.

Delimitations

The multi-layered acronym BDSM stands for several physical and psychological aspects summarized under this generic term.

· B & D Bondage and Discipline (Bondage and Discipline)

· D & S Dominance and Submission (Domination and Submission)

· S & M Sadism and Masochism (Sadism and Masochism)

Characteristic

All variations of BDSM have in common that the participants voluntarily surrender their equal rights to a power imbalance. The submissive partner gives up a certain amount of their autonomy and hands it over to the dominant partner (power exchange). Both parties gain pleasure from this. The dominant partner is also known as the Dom or Top, the submissive partner as the Sub or Bottom.

BDSM acts usually take place during a fixed period of time in the form of erotic role-play; a single BDSM game is called a session. Many of the practices carried out within BDSM, such as the infliction of pain, humiliation or submission, would be perceived as unpleasant without the connection to the specific sexual preference. Sexual intercourse such as oral, vaginal or even anal intercourse can occur within a session, but is not essential.

The basis for practising BDSM is that it is always practised by mature partners, voluntarily and with mutual consent to a safe degree. Since the 1990s, these basic principles have been summarized under the English term „safe, sane and consensual“, or SSC for short. This means something like „safe, sane and consensual“. The voluntary nature, i.e. the consensual nature between the participants, distinguishes BDSM both legally and ethically from offenses or crimes against sexual self-determination.

Voluntariness is the decisive criterion here. Consent to a consensual sadomasochistic act can only be given by someone who can adequately assess the consequences of their consent. The person giving consent must have sufficient information and the necessary mental capacity to make a decision. In general, the consenting person must be free to withdraw consent at any time, for example by using a previously agreed signal word, a so-called safeword.