Topping and Bottoming
Like any title or identity, roles and titles in the BDSM lifestyle (hereafter referred to as "the lifestyle") can get a bit muddy and murky because they tend to overlap in some places and are polar opposites in others. A role is where the person's standing is inside and sometimes outside of their relationships and could refer to the main four of Dominant, submissive, Master, and slave, as well as a ton of others that exist. Neither Topping nor bottoming necessarily has anything to do with a person's role in the lifestyle; they actually refer to a person's position in scenes and sessions (during playtime).
A Top is someone who performs "the action" during a scene, and yes, a submissive/slave can be a Top. Topping can refer to the action of flogging, fire cupping, play piercing, rope play, and much, much more. The person holding the flogger is the Top; it goes without saying that the one who receives its lashes is the bottom. A person can be both at the same time, given the situation and people involved. I once saw a scene where a person was being flogged while flogging someone else; to my voyeur eyes, it would appear that they were both Topping and bottoming, but perhaps to them, they were doing one or the other.
Bottoms are the individuals who receive all of that fun, "mean" stuff, like knives grazing their skin, paddles making impact with their tush, and cups suctioning their sensitive skin. People sometimes get the term "bottom" confused with "submissive." A bottom is not always a submissive, though this is very often times true. Bottoming is simply the act of receiving those forms of play. Many Dominants also love the sensation of being flogged or fire cupped; they find it relaxing!
Some terms that are less frequently used are "service Top" and "service bottom." They can sometimes have a negative connotation to some, but they're really not so bad. Being a service Top means that the Top is playing with another as a service to them; there are times when they will get nothing out of the play other than a bit of practice with their tools, and the bottom exclaims most of the 'oh's and 'ah's during the scene. A service Top may play with people because they are proficient and skilled in a certain craft that others desire. Same with service bottoms; I've witnessed many a bootblack sought after because of their excellent skills with bootblacking services.
A Top is someone who performs "the action" during a scene, and yes, a submissive/slave can be a Top. Topping can refer to the action of flogging, fire cupping, play piercing, rope play, and much, much more. The person holding the flogger is the Top; it goes without saying that the one who receives its lashes is the bottom. A person can be both at the same time, given the situation and people involved. I once saw a scene where a person was being flogged while flogging someone else; to my voyeur eyes, it would appear that they were both Topping and bottoming, but perhaps to them, they were doing one or the other.
Bottoms are the individuals who receive all of that fun, "mean" stuff, like knives grazing their skin, paddles making impact with their tush, and cups suctioning their sensitive skin. People sometimes get the term "bottom" confused with "submissive." A bottom is not always a submissive, though this is very often times true. Bottoming is simply the act of receiving those forms of play. Many Dominants also love the sensation of being flogged or fire cupped; they find it relaxing!
Some terms that are less frequently used are "service Top" and "service bottom." They can sometimes have a negative connotation to some, but they're really not so bad. Being a service Top means that the Top is playing with another as a service to them; there are times when they will get nothing out of the play other than a bit of practice with their tools, and the bottom exclaims most of the 'oh's and 'ah's during the scene. A service Top may play with people because they are proficient and skilled in a certain craft that others desire. Same with service bottoms; I've witnessed many a bootblack sought after because of their excellent skills with bootblacking services.
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