The full form of BDSM is bondage and discipline
“BDSM” is known to be both an acronym and an abbreviation. Each letter represents the first letter of a word in one of three phrases that combine to form this term. The “BD” represents “bondage and discipline,” “DS” represents “domination and submission,” “SM” represents “sadism and masochism.” Each of these phrases describes someone who experiences sexual pleasure in one of the three ways: psychological or physical restraint (BD), relinquishing or gaining power and/or control in non-sexual and sexual situations (DS), and sexual arousal caused by the humiliation and pain of another (SM).

BDSM is a term used to described certain aspects of sex that can be split into these major groups: bondage and discipline, domination and submission, sadism and masochism.

“Although some people think that BDSM is ‘kinky’, in some cases it doesn’t have to involve sex at all – the mental connotations of some acts are more of a turn-on than the prelude of a particular act leading to sex,”

Origin of BDSM
Although certain specifics are lacking concerning the origin of this term, all that can be said for certain is that the first occurrence of “BDSM” was recorded being used in 1991 by a post in the general Usenet system. From that point, it was used as a catchall phrase to describe those with interesting and/or what is considered to abnormal sexual fetishes.

Other Meanings
The acronym/abbreviation does not appear to have any other meanings except for the one already stated above.

Types of BDSM

Some types of BDSM practices include:

• Dominance/submission
• Bondage
• Roleplay
• Wax play
• Impact play/spanking
• Sadism/masochism/pain play
• Humiliation play
• Sensation play/edgeplay

How to Practice

If you are interested in giving BDSM a try, there are some great ways to get started. There are a number of “light” BDSM practices that can be a good starting point for beginners, including such things as:

• Hair pulling
• Blindfolds
• Light spanking
• Scarf or tie bondage
• Roleplaying

Example Conversations
A text exchange between two friends.

Friend 1: Nathaniel shocked me last night!
Friend 2: What happened?
Friend 1: We were watching a movie and he asked me if I was into BDSM at all.
Friend 2: What did you say?
Friend 1: I told him I was shocked he would ask. Then I told him I would be willing to try anything at least once.