BDSMGeek

In the sign-up page for Fetlife there is a section which asks for your “Role”, some of these can be foreign to you, because of this I’ve drawn up short definitions for each. For more details concerning Identity and BDSM roles check this article out. You can also join the BDSM Glossary Fetlife Group.

• Dominant - The one in charge, or the top who oversees and controls.  A Dominant should be well versed in many areas of sexual play for safety.  The responsible One.
• Domme - female variant of Dominant.(Also known as Dominatrix)
• Switch - a person who changes between 2 or more roles.
• submissive - One who gives freely of themselves for the pleasures of another.  A subordinate with negotiated limits.
• Master - The dominant of a Master/slave dynamic.
• Mistress - Female variant of Master.
• slave - The submissive of the Master/slave dynamic.
• pet - Controversial term that can be 1. A bottom who enjoys animal play. 2. A submissive or slave who is considered living property such as domestic animals are. The pet will not necessarily have an animal persona.
• kajira - term for female slave or “slave-girl” in John Norman’s Gor novels.
• kajirus -  term for male slave in John Norman’s Gor novels.
• Top - The person in control during a scene or in play, but may or may not be a Dominant.
• Bottom - In a scene, the person who gives up control, or who receives physical sensation from a top.
• Sadist -  A person who enjoys inflicting pain on another. The person may gain sexual or non-sexual gratification from this.
• Masochist - A person who enjoys receiving pain. May or may not be sexual enjoyment.
• Sadomasochist - A person who enjoys both inflicting and receiving pain.
• Ageplayer - Ageplay or age play is a form of roleplaying in which an individual acts or treats another as if they were a different age.
• Daddy - Someone who takes on a father role in a relationship; often, but not always, a Dominant.
• babygirl - A female who identifies as or role plays as a young girl. Sometimes used as a nick name for a female submissive.
• brat - A “bratty” submissive has a reputation for talking back, being disrespectful or mildly disobedient. On the surface, this is a negative quality in a submissive; however, a certain amount of “brattiness” is enjoyed by some Dominants, and may in fact be a large component of a power exchange relationship.
• Primal -  a person that gives into their instincts. A form of Dominant /submissive play revolving around animalistic aspect of human psyche
• Fetishist - One who gains arousal or gratification from a fetish (a physical object, or from a specific situation).
• Kinkster - A person characterized by kinky preferences or behavior.
• Hedonist - a person who is devout to pursuing pleasure and self gratification.
• Vanilla - A person without BDSM inclinations or a fetish.

References:

“Roles, Orientations and Genders Defined.” by tails_sb
“Glossary of Kink: A to L” by Sue9378
“What is Primal Play exactly?” by Miss_Skully