BDSM Doesn't Always Include Traditionally Sexual Acts

There is a fairly wide spread assumption that BDSM (Bondage, Dominance, Submission/Sadism, Masochism) must include traditionally sexual acts such as oral or penetrative sex. However, more and more I see BDSM relationships that aren’t based on sexual acts at all. .
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Some are based solely on Shibari (Japanese rope bondage), some are based on a master/slave relationship that entails cooking and cleaning duties by the slave and nothing more (more on the side of the master than employer, of course). Additionally, a recent article came out about ‘session wrestling/bdsm wrestling’ (where typically pay women to wrestle), gaining popularity in the UK. The appeal of these kink relationships is the focus on intimacy through dominance, submission and pleasure through pain. The focus is not on typical sex acts as some might expect. For some, this behavior may be a precursor to sex acts, as most mainstream media might suggest such as movies like 50 shades or Secretary but for others, this IS the main event! .
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While there is a lot that can be learned from this, in my opinion, the major take away is to be aware that sometimes we get boxed into having a narrow view of what sex and sexuality entail. Sexuality is part of who we are and can be viewed any way we want it to! Explore, play with and be curious! Expand your definition of what sexuality means!

Noémie Kyryluk