Dominance and submission (D/s) is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. It is a subset of BDSM. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has been shown to please a minority of people.
A 1921 illustration of female submission. The male is clothed while the female is naked and waiting on corporal punishment being administered on her. The art is by Georges Topfer from his work Le rêve d’un flagellant ("The Dream of a Flagellant").
A man engaging in petplay at the Folsom Street Fair and wearing a dog leash around his neck.
Artwork depicting a female dominant performing bondage on her male submissive.
A dominatrix, or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are popularly known for inflicting physical pain on their submissive subjects, but this is not done in every case. In some instances erotic humiliation is used, such as verbal humiliation or the assignment of humiliating tasks. Dominatrices also make use of other forms of servitude. Practices of domination common to many BDSM and other various sexual relationships are also prevalent. A dominatrix is typically a paid professional (pro-domme) as the term dominatrix is little-used within the non-professional BDSM scene.
Phyllis and Aristotle, a fictional tale written in the 13th century, as depicted by artist Giovanni Buonconsiglio in the early 1500s
Erotic photograph, c. 1930s, showing a dominant female music teacher caning the buttocks of a submissive female student with a violin bow
A professional dominatrix and a submissive male perform for the audience at a sex show in Austria.
A dominatrix wearing typical fetish fashion themed latex dress, fishnet stockings and stiletto heels. She is holding a spanking paddle.
