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BDSM Dictionary : Top: history
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This entry is part of the BDSM Dictionary hosted by Informed Consent.
This is the version from 19 Dec 08, 12:17 PM. The full history of this entry will show any more recent versions.
A Top may be male or female. Within BDSM, the Top is the partner who takes the role of giver in such acts as bondage, discipline (e.g. flogging) orhumiliation. The Top performs acts such as these upon the bottom.
Someone who has more power in general over their partner and might give orders would usually be termed a Dom (or Dominant) or possibly a Master, or the gender equivalents.
It is also possible for two partners to switch roles to the other during the same encounter, depending on mood and preference. See switch. The top is also sometimes the partner who is following instructions, i.e., they top when, and in the manner, requested by the bottom. A person who applies sensation or control to a bottom, but does so to the bottom's explicit instruction is a "service top".
In Japanese bondage and sexually-themed anime and manga (especially yaoi), a top is referred to as seme, a term from Martial Arts.
In terms of commitment, the relationship between a Top and bottom varies from transitory (possibly just an encounter at a play party) to fully permanent, including marriage.
A Top might also be a sadist but is less often a masochist.
In the context of human sexual behaviour, especially anal sex among gay
men, the top is the insertive partner, or a person who prefers the
insertive 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 Top (BDSM) article in Wipipedia.)
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