Master/Mistress: Usually, the titles, "Master" and "Mistress", will be combined with "slave" as "Master/slave" or "Mistress/slave", but it's not necessarily the case. Some people assume that "Master" and "Mistress" are what people in the lifestyle use if they're dominant, so they adopt the title, simply on the premise that they desire to be dominant, or that they think they like the idea of dominance. It's difficult to fault them; if someone likes a title, and it fulfills them to hear it from a partner's lips, who can say that they're wrong to do it?
These titles, however, mean something completely different to people who have been in the lifestyle for years, and follow particular protocols based on certain philosophies. Some philosophies require certain levels of training and experience in order for someone to earn them. Some titles come automatically when someone enters a certain lifestyle and determines whether he or she is dominant or submissive. Many try the titles on for size as they hear them from their partners. I am in the latter category. My slave offered up the title of Master, and it sounded natural, coming from her. It never really had before, and I had trouble using it when so many people took it lightly among people I knew in the past. I embrace it now. I own it now.
I should note that I have a friend who uses "Master" in a completely different way, and it's completely valid, of course. His partner is not a slave, not a submissive, but something else entirely. Once again, it's best not to assume. However, the vast majority of the time, "Master" and "Mistress" mean that the person is a dominant, whatever way they live the lifestyle.
Sir/Ma'am: It is usually safe to assume that someone who prefers to be called "Sir" or "Ma'am" is a dominant in the lifestyle. There are few exceptions I can think of, other than switches who have entered into a relationships with partners who have assumed the role of submissive, at least most of the time. What the submissive is called in the relationship will vary with each person. There's no assumption that may be made there.
Some people who use "Sir" or "Ma'am" use it to distinguish themselves from people who have more experience in the lifestyle. Some people simply prefer these titles because they sound more natural.
Dom/Domme/Domina: These are simply titles for male and female dominants. Their submissives will often call them by other titles during play, however. People call themselves "Dom" or "Domme" to make it abundantly clear that they are BDSM dominants.
Sadist/masochist: Sadists and masochists are people who get off on pain. People often--surprisingly, at least to me--confuse the two. To be clear, a sadist is the person who inflicts pain, whether physical or psychological or both; the masochist is on the receiving end. It would seem to some that the sadist is the dominant and the masochist is the submissive, but this is not a safe assumption. They could be completely equal, as far as they're concerned. A masochist--or a sadist, for that matter, although I find it to be rare--can top from the bottom in order to feed his or her desire to receive pain. I happen to be a sadistic dominant, but I have had one sexual relationship where my masochist wasn't truly a submissive. I strongly prefer submission, though I often seek women who normally assume the dominant role and dominate them, just for the challenge. Though not every dominant woman has a secret desire to be submissive--not by a long shot--I have met several who do, but simply couldn't find a man who was up to the challenge. My slave--the woman I love and plan to marry--never assumed the dominant role in the BDSM lifestyle, but displays dominance in other aspects of her life (so do many other submissives, actually).
Switch/switch: Some switches find each other and trade off the roles. One might be more dominant than the other, and they'll play accordingly. Some will very occasionally switch; some will switch often. Some will find a dominant or submissive, and switch with yet another person. That's one thing about the lifestyle: it's not limited to monogamous couples. People have open relationship.. People can be polyamorous.
Daddy/little girl/babygirl: I will start out by saying that I don't allow this particular dynamic in my secret group on Facebook. Most people there aren't into it, and when posts from people who adopted this dynamic basically took over the group's feed, participation dropped off from people who either weren't into it, or found it downright distasteful. If group participation hadn't fallen off from other people, I would have continued to tolerate it, because whatever happens between consenting adults is their business, right? But the threat was there of me and my slave becoming the admins of a DD/lg and DD/bg group. We weren't having that. It makes my slave's skin crawl, because she had someone try to push it on her, when she said several times that it wasn't her thing and didn't feel right. I had a submissive beg me to let her call me by the title, and I refused. I have a daughter who calls me "Daddy", and I'm not taking the innocence of that away by having a sexual partner refer to me as such. We did a purge of this dynamic, and group participation increased. My personal feelings did not come into play here. Group cohesion was my concern.
I will not pretend to understand why people choose this dynamic. My observation is that it's not always about incest play or age play. In some cases, the "Daddy" is simply a nurturing dominant who takes care of the submissive (who is not always called a "little" or "babygirl") in every way, as a father might for a daughter. In some cases, incest fantasy is involved. Age play is involved. Littles and babygirls talk about "regressing" to certain ages. Whatever the case, it's not my kink, and my honest opinion is that it's distasteful to use a parental nickname for a sexual partner. There, I said it.
The many ways people play: The ways people live out their dynamics vary as much as the titles they use for themselves. Some people just assume roles as dominants and submissives in general ways. Some verbally agree to rules, or make them up as they go along. Some are far more formal, and will write them down, even signing contracts after negotiating their kinks. Some have mentors and go through training for years, whatever role they choose. Some live out roles according to their fandoms.
What's the best way to play? Whatever works for you. The only rule I think should apply to everyone is that play be between consenting adults.
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