Lecture Notes

Variations in sexual behavior are not rare. One of the more widespread forms of sexual variation is domination and submission. It entails the consensual sexual role-playing in which one person dominates and the other submits. The term sadomasochism (S&M) is also used by the general public to describe domination and submission, but it is no longer used as a clinical term in psychiatry and psychology to describe consensual domination and submission. Power is a central element, and it is consensual usually without pain. If pain is present, the amount or degree of pain is usually faint or slight. The submissive partner is usually controlled by subtle, nonverbal signals, and the majority of individuals that engage in it do it as a form of sexual enhancement.   As such, domination and submission are not a paraphilic disorder since the behavior is consensual and without pain. To be considered paraphilic, such behavior requires that the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner be real, not merely simulated. Image: http://nymag.com/thecut/2011/02/rihannas_sm_video_banned.html