| Dominatrix |
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A dominatrix or mistress is a woman who takes the dominant role in bondage and discipline, domination and submission or sado-masochistic sexual practices, which are commonly abbreviated as BDSM. The male equivalent is master. A common form of address for a submissive to a dominatrix is "Mistress" or "Ma'am". Note that a dominatrix does not necessarily dominate a male partner; a dominatrix may well have a female submissive.
The term domme is a coined pseudo-French female variation of the slang dom (short for dominant). There is confusion on its pronunciation, with some pronouncing it identically to dom and some pronouncing the final e as a second syllable, e.g. saying dom-MAY or DOM-may. It appears that more BDSM authorities prefer the first pronunciation (identical to dom), by analogy to one-syllable French-derived words like femme or blonde.
Older woman-younger man relationships are much more common in female dominant relationships than among vanilla couples. |
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| Professional versus lifestyle dominatrices |
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The term dominatrix is most commonly used to describe a professional dominant woman (or pro-domme) who charges money to engage in fantasy play with submissive clients, but in reality most dominatrices are not professionals, but lifestyle dominants. A lifestyle dominant is a person who is assertive and in control of their relationships both inside and outside the bedroom.
Women who engage in female domination recreationally are known as Dommes, Dominatrices, or simply Dominants, though they are rarely referred to as Dominatrices. A high percentage of dominatrices are lifestyle dominants, but some simply play the dominatrix role because it is a high-paying profession.
It is common for professional dominatrixes who are also lifestyle Dommes to have both paying clients and a "personal slave" or slaves, who are not paying clients. A personal slave will typically perform a Domme's housework and run errands for her. A personal slave may or may not live with his or her Domme. Most Dommes engage in sexual activity with personal slaves, but this is not always the case. Some Dommes limit the sexual activity to the slave performing oral sex on them, while others engage in the full gamut of sexual activities.
The stereotyped image of a dominatrix is of a woman wearing a rubber catsuit and thigh-length boots with high heels. Many professional dominatrices do indeed wear similar outfits for their work in order to meet client expectations. However, for non-professional dominatrices, the question "What does a dominatrix wear?" is best answered "Whatever she likes!" |
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