Top, bottom, switch

Not to be confused with Top, bottom and versatile.
BDSM couples, with the femme tops sitting on male bottoms who are kneeling, leashed and in handcuffs, at 2006 Cologne Pride, Germany.

The terms top, bottom, and switch are used to describe roles during a sexual act, or they may more broadly denote a psychological, social, or sexual identity, or indicate one's usual preference.[1] The terms top, bottom, and switch are also used in BDSM, with slightly different meanings. In BDSM, a top is the person doing something to someone else, and a bottom is the person receiving that act.[2][3] In both contexts, the terms top and bottom refer to active and passive roles, not to who is physically on top in a particular sexual act.[1] A switch is someone who can act as both a top and bottom. The older term versatile is sometimes used instead of switch.[4]

  1. ^ a b Jones, Angela (2013). A Critical Inquiry into Queer Utopias. Springer. pp. 111–112. ISBN 978-1137311979.
  2. ^ "Dominant Honorifics in BDSM". KYNK 101. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  3. ^ "Submissive Honorifics in BDSM". KYNK 101. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  4. ^ Langdridge, Darren; Richards, C.; John Barker, Meg (2007). Safe, Sane and Consensual: Contemporary Perspectives on Sadomasochism. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 140. ISBN 978-0230517745.