Comparing and contrasting lifestyle and professional dominatrices: a division by tribute

Abstract

In the realm of BDSM there are a few different roles. There is a dominant, which is a person who controls a BDSM scene. There is a submissive, which is a person who gives up control to the dominant during a scene. In a BDSM scene, there must always be a person who is playing the role of a dominant and a person who is in the role of the submissive. This study looks at two different identities associated with the dominate role, lifestyle and professional. This study aims to compare and contrast the two identities on their backgrounds, how they identify themselves, and their views on tribute. Tribute is receiving either gifts or money in exchange for BDSM services. Two theories, social constructionism and exchange theory, were used to create the interview questions for this survey. For this study I interviewed four lifestyle dominatrices and three professional dominatrices. Data from six blogs, three lifestyle dominatrices’ blogs and three professional dominatrices’ blogs, were used as well. My findings suggest that in discovery of, and in BDSM play, the dominatrices are similar and that the defining difference between lifestyles and professionals is the acceptance of money. My findings also conflict a little with Viviana Zelizer’s theory that the receiver of a gift is necessarily submissive to the giver.