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BDSM Dictionary : Top: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
A top may be male or female. Within BDSM, the top is the giver of such acts as bondage, discipline (e.g. flogging) or humiliation upon their partner, usually a bottom.
Someone who has more power in general over their partner would usually be termed a dominant (or dom) or possibly a master.
It is also possible for two partners to switch roles to the other during the same encounter, in a relationship or in another relationship, depending on mood and preference. See switch. The top is also sometimes the partner who is following instructions from the bottom. A person who applies sensation or control to the bottom, but does so to the bottom's explicit instruction is a "service top".
In Japanese bondage, a top or dominant can be referred to as "Shihai-teki". (Shihai meaning control, teki meaning rival)
In the context of human sexual behaviour, especially anal sex among gay
men, the top is the giving partner, or a person who prefers the
giving/active role. However, the activities between a top and bottom
need not include the sex act.See Also
(This entry in the BDSM Dictionary incorporates text from the Bottom article in Wipipedia.)
This entry is published under the terms of the GFDL. People with profiles on Informed Consent can improve this entry: see the BDSM Dictionary help page for details.
