D/s Taxonomy Classification

Every day, the world introduces us to a new flavor of dominance and submission.

“Me? I’m a Pleasure Dominant.”

“I’m a property submissive.”

The truth is that while there are general types of Dominants and Submissives, we have to acknowledge that everyone is an individual. As an individual, everyone is going to have their own history, desires, limits, and expectations for how a power-exchange dynamic is fulfilled and expressed. This necessitates a flexible or fluid system of identity. Unfortunately, that fluidity can often leave some of us scratching our heads and wondering, “When you call yourself XYZ-Dom (or XYZ-sub), what exactly does that mean?”

So, because I’m a nerd, I went ahead and created a light-hearted guide to considering power-exchange dynamics.

Think of the animal kingdom.

There is so much biodiversity that scientists needed a way of organizing this diversity in order to study it and understand it. So they developed the taxonomy/classification system: Domains, Kingdoms, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. An Elephant and an Elephant seal are both mammals, but you won't find them in the same environment and they definitely won't exhibit similar behaviors outside of sleeping, eating, and fucking.

This is similar to the goal many of us have for the BDSM/Kink Community! Why is classification a good thing?

• Power-exchange takes on many forms. It can be ritualistic, playful, primal, chaotic, etc.

• We want to have a shared language to facilitate communication and understanding.

• We want to highlight the similarities and differences, how our practices have evolved, and perhaps get better at seeing how we are all interconnected in this erotic bubble we’ve created for ourselves!

• And possibly, most importantly, identify what is missing and what needs to be addressed to protect what has been built.
  

Because, believe it or not, there are those who infiltrate the D/s community without understanding or respecting consent, ethics, or power dynamics. They imitate, relying on coercion and manipulation and disrupt spaces rather than contributing to or improving them. This mirrors biological distinctions between symbiotic/cooperative species and parasitic mimicry.

Let's look at a VERY rough first draft of what a D/s Taxonomy System might look like. And who knows? Maybe someone can take this idea and flesh it out even more!

Primary D/s Taxonomic System

Kingdom: Animalia

We are indeed animals. Hopefully, no explanation is needed here.

Phylum: Eroticae

We are organisms whose behavior (in this specific field) is rooted in erotic, consensual, and structured power-exchange. Behavioral patterns, social interactions, and sensory responses are shaped by erotic intention.

Class: Kinkata

We are creatures that participate in structured and stylized kink behavior rather than solely instinctive or generalized erotic expression. Creatures in this class derive fulfillment from ritualized roles and scenes, codified power exchange, or specialized sensory stimuli. The Kinkata represent the most behaviorally diverse class in the Eroticae phylum.

Order: Potentia

Within the class of Kinkata, Potentia's defining trait is intentional engagement with interpersonal power. This is done by wielding power, exchanging it, or destabilizing it in ways that remain consensual and reciprocal.

This is where we encounter the first differentiation within power dynamics.

Family: Top

Top is considered an umbrella term but is typically the person in a scene or dynamic who is guiding, leading, or structuring the interaction. They create the stimulus whether that stimulus is impact, dominance, sensations, caretaking, pursuit, discipline, or simply direction. The authority of the Top is adaptive as the needs of the scene progress and is expressed in strategy, leadership, and consideration for their partner(s).

Family: Bottom

Bottom is considered an umbrella term for the individual who is receiving, interpreting, or transforming the power offered by their top, or others in the scene. This is not a passive role as bottoms influence the power dynamic through responsiveness, whether emotional or embodied/physical expression. Bottoms typically respond, rather than initiate, in the scene.

Now, let's address the archetypes in the Genus category:

• Dominant

• Sadist

• Master/Mistress

• Brat Tamer

• Rope Top/Rigger

• Caregiver

• Owner/Handler/Trainer

• Hunter

• Submissive

• Masochist

• Slave/Puppet

• Brat

• Rope Bottom/Rope Bunny

• Little/Middle

• Pet

• Prey

Genus: Dominant

When paired with their submissive half, the Dominant and submissive represent the core relational axis from which all other kink dynamics have evolved. They are the D and the s of the D/s dynamic structure.

The Dominant’s purpose? To create an experience, hold authority, and facilitate pleasure or transformation for the submissive. Dominants excel at directing, containing, and shaping energy. They thrive on responsibility, structure, and the act of leading an intimate experience.

A Dominant may engage in sensory play with their partner, but the infliction of pain or sensation is secondary to the exchange of authority.

Species of Dominants can include:

• Skill Dom/me

• Amazonian Domme

• High Protocol Dom/me

• White Knight Dom/me

• Pleasure Dom/me

• Soft Dom/me

Important note: Not all Dominants are Tops.
Not all Tops are Dominants. Try to avoid using these terms
interchangeably

Genus: Sadist

The architect of a sensory-focused power exchange, where erotic arousal is intertwined with pain (or intense sensations that are interpreted as pain), sensation, and controlled intensity. The Sadist derives erotic enjoyment from delivering the sensation/pain while still operating within the high-trust ecosystem they have negotiated with their partner.

I feel I have to distinguish between a kink Sadist and the clinical paraphilia sadism. The practice of sadism in BDSM hinges on consent at its core. For a clinical sadist, the lack of consent is very much a feature of the gratification they derive.

The Sadist’s authority is tied to their tools and technique, not simply domination for domination’s sake. In addition to verbal communication and guidance, the Sadist also uses check-ins and safeword protocols, and feedback responsive adaptation to know when to pull back and when to apply more sensation/pain.

A Sadistic scene is designed to elicit strong reactions in:

1) the anticipation of sensation (fear),
2) the experience of sensation (pain), and
3) after the sensation (relief , pride, emotional release).

Because certain sadistic practices rely on timing, technique, withdrawal, overstimulation or balancing any combination of these, dynamics can feature the following:

• Warm-up, Escalation, and Cool down sequences

• Tools or hands-on techniques

• Ritualized strikes, wax drops, or rope tension

• Praise or acknowledgement of the masochist’s endurance

• Impact play

• Wax, ice, or temperature play

• Rope or binding that produces discomfort

• Psychological Edge Play, or Mind Fucking

Species of Sadists include but are not limited to:

• Impact Sadists

• Sensory Sadists

• Ritual Sadists

• Psychological Sadists

The last thing a BDSM Sadist wants is permanent physical or emotional damage.

Genus: Master/Mistress

Masters/Mistresses hold authority over lifestyle, ritual, and emotional frameworks. They have taken on a higher degree of psychological, sexual, emotional, and potentially financial control that is more extensive than what is typically negotiated in individual or shorter-term scenes. The Master/Mistress is the focus of protocol, devotion, ritual, and ownership that emphasizes mutual trust and personal growth within a negotiated hierarchy.

The Master/Mistress assumes comprehensive authority over a consensual slave/puppet while also building mutual satisfaction and intimacy into the dynamic. This can be established through the following common rituals:

• Daily/weekly protocols

• Collarings or symbols of ownership/property

• Obedience Training

• Ritualized Service Acts

• Prioritizing the achievement of scene-based or lifestyle-based milestones

Species of the Master/Mistress identity can include:

• High-protocol Ownership (Ceremonial, highly formalized): King/Queen or other nobility; God/Goddess Worship

• Financial Domination/Fin Dom

• Caretaking: Daily oversight, mentorship, nurturing and protective

• 1950’s Household Dynamic, where the man is the Master of his home or, when subverted, the man is the one who works to maintain his housewife/Mistress in the lifestyle she desires. While he is the breadwinner, his Mistress makes all the household decisions.

Genus: Brat Tamer

The Brat Tamer is a real-time strategist, effectively enforcing their authority through negotiation, correction, and boundary-setting. The behavior a Brat Tamer responds to is rarely limited to one place, time, or scene. As such, they tend to be vigilant and ready to respond to such behavior at a moment's notice. They thrive on wit, patience, and playful correction. This is also one of the few dynamics where the Top will intentionally adopt traits associated with the bottom such as sassing or in the consensual testing of limits.

Characteristics of a Brat Tamer:

• Calm and confident in the face of a challenging submissive

• Enjoys playful power negotiation

• Particularly skilled in giving physical and verbal cues

• Responsive to their submissive’s non-verbal cues and energy

The brat in me really just wants to write "Brat tamers, blah blah blah..." but I want to be taken seriously so I can't do that.

Whatever.

The Brat Tamer seeks to create tension while maintaining a secure connection with their partner. This pairing of seemingly opposing forces often results in heightened intimacy and trust as well as chaotic erotic energy.

Brat Tamers tease their submissives, or brats, remaining playful even when issuing verbal corrections or reprimands. The Brat Tamer can enforce rules and expectations with punishments but this is often the goal of the brat’s behavior. The reprimand becomes positive reinforcement with playful penalties.

Common Rituals Employed by Brat Tamers:

• Corrective Challenges (writing lines, generic domestic chores with added consequences)

• Energetic chase or play

• Verbal (banter) or physical games (wrestling)

• Rewards for good behavior

• Punishments (or Fun-ishments) as negotiated play

Genus: Rope Top/Rigger

The Rope Top, or Rigger, derives pleasure and erotic satisfaction from creating and maintaining tension, flow, and aesthetically pleasing ties. The rope itself is seen as a third partner in these dynamics. The rope represents the primary medium through which the Rigger imposes control, using technical skill as opposed to verbal or manual authority alone. As such, the Rigger is engaged with the rope, not only as a tool to restrict or punish, but to create art that utilizes the bottom’s body for that specific expression. A beautiful triangulation of power, skill, and beauty.

The Rigger is aware of the risks to their partner, taking into consideration the consequences of rope and knot placement, weight distribution, and the potential for restricted blood flow, nerve damage, etc.

As such, any Rigger should be fluent in:

• Giving clear instructions while tying

• Using constant feedback checks

• Providing verbal reassurances

• Guidance through sensation and position

• Proper rope maintenance, and

• Having the tools for immediate release on their person at all times

With the rope, a Rigger can:

• impart pain by keeping their Rope Bottom, or Rope Bunny, in stressful poses or by applying pressure using the tie itself.

• Enforce discipline through the restriction of movement, either to give additional punishments or giving their submissive the acceptance they seek in surrendering

• Establishes dominance as the rope play is not possible without the submission of their partner

The Rigger can incorporate elements of suspension to add to the challenge of rope tying. Other Rigger rituals include:

• Escape challenge ties for playfulness

• Finger and hand ties for casual intimacy

• Artistic ties for the aesthetic practice

Finally, a Rigger can engage in rope play either partnered or unpartnered. Many Rope Tops engage in self-tying for the practice and also participate in group tying events to improve their skill sets, the technical challenges they provide, as well as for being part of the community.

Genus: Caregiver

This genus expresses dominance through nurturance, structure, emotional support, and protective authority. Caregivers use emotional warmth as power, stability as dominance, and genuine emotional attunement as the basis for their authority. While dominance and submission are still a present factor, the Caregiver’s authority is intended to provide routine, consistency, and reassurance to a partner in an effort to promote emotional growth and self-regulation.

Caregiver Traits:

• Highly attuned to partner’s emotional state

• Provides structure, reminders, and gentle authority

• Uses soft but firm dominance

• Encourages growth, healing, and self-regulation

• Prioritizes safety and comfort

• May be playful, strict, gentle, or therapeutic in tone

The Caregiver often assumes responsibility for comforting their partner in ways adults are typically not allowed to

seek comfort as those soothing behaviors are seen as immature and childish. The Caregiver provides a non-judgemental space for their partner to indulge in this comfort and becomes the provider of acquiring their partner’s favorite snacks, playtime activities, comfort items like stuffed animals and blankets, while encouraging their partner to also communicate their needs.

This dominant is most associated with Dd/lg dynamics or CGL (Caregiver/Little) dynamics, but has also expanded to include:

• Middles

• Age regression (non-sexual)

• Interpersonal nurturant dominance

• Guidance oriented D/s

• Structure and routine-based power exchanges

Caregiver Species can include but is not limited to:

• Classic Daddy or Mommy Dominant

• Emotional Caregiver/Healer

• Rule-setter/Strict

• Playful Caregiver

Genus: Owner/Handler/Trainer

The Owner/Handler/Trainer assumes responsibility for the Pet’s behavior, training, and overall care within the dynamic. Their role is rooted in structure, authority, and stewardship rather than solely physical domination. In pet play, the dominance can be embodied in three different ways.

The Owner is typically a permanent, nurturing figure who assumes overall "ownership" and responsibility for a pet player.

A Handler is often more task-oriented or temporary compared to an owner's. They are typically responsible for the immediate care, safety, and guidance of the pet during a specific scene.

A Trainer specializes in teaching the pet specific commands, discipline, positions, and "tricks". The role is similar to how a person might take their pet to an obedience class: the trainer helps the pet learn and improve their skills, but may not necessarily assume ownership or provide general day-to-day care for the pet outside of the specific training context. A trainer can be an established owner or handler who incorporates training into their dynamic, or an entirely separate individual brought in for a specific educational purpose.

In the end, all three offer rules, care, and discipline that looks very similar to the care one would provide an actual animal.

The Owner/Handler/Trainer genus centers around possession, devotion, training, and creature identity. Dynamics in this genus emulate domestication ecosystems, where the Owner (or Handler/Trainer) provides structure, habitat, and guidance, and the Pet offers loyalty, affection, responsiveness, and role embodiment in return.

The activities engaged in by the Owner/Handler/Trainer will depend heavily on the reasons for playing as well as the animal persona assumed by the bottom. Regardless, the power exchange is maintained through routine, ritual, affection, and symbolic belonging (e.g., collars, tags, pet names).

Common Activities Facilitated by the Owner/Handler/Trainer:

• Collaring & tag rituals

• Commands (sit, heel, present, stay)

• Grooming (brushing, bath rituals, hair play)

• Feeding scenes

• Creature play (ears, tails, body language)

• Leashing, walking, training sessions

• Nesting, kennels, cozy dens

• Reward/discipline cycles

The human who becomes the pet is offering loyalty, love, and trust. As the Handler or Owner of this pet, it is of vital importance that one shows up prepared to take this role seriously, to care for the pet while they are in this role, just as they would any pet they accept responsibility for.

Additionally, because of the potential for pets to assume their pet identity so deeply that they lose the ability to communicate with words, it is important for Owners/Handlers/Trainers to be vigilant for nonverbal cues.

It should be noted that Owners/Handlers/Trainers are not always necessary for pet play ecosystems. It is not uncommon for pets to play with other pets (puppy playdates), or to find comfort in their creature identity in the privacy of their own homes (house kitten grooming herself and eating from a bowl) without any interaction from an Owner or Handler at all.

Genus: Hunter

The Hunter genus can express power exchange through pursuit, adrenaline, instinct, and the capture fantasy. The Hunter (or Predator) relies on the thrill of the chase, be it physical or psychological. This genus was saved for last because unlike other power-dynamic identities, the power exchange is optional. Primal doesn't require power to be transferred. It might still happen, but it’s not central. It can be done with Top and Bottom roles, between switches, or be completely egalitarian.

Types of Primal Tops:

Predator: A primal who wants to hunt and/or attempt to capture prey, typically while acting like an animal or in an animal-like way.

Hunter: A primal who typically maintains a human mindset and does not take on an animal role while hunting prey or otherwise engaging with Primal prey.

Alpha: A primal that is part of a pack power structure with one or more other primals, who has a Dominant or authoritative role.

Despite someone identifying as a Hunter, they can still be taken down by another Dominant who identifies as a Predator. And the Hunter or Predator can be outsmarted by primal prey. There are endless possibilities!

Three Distinctions about this genus:

• Few (If Any) Toys/Tools Needed: You are the tool. Hands, teeth, voice, energy.

• Not Role Play: You aren’t pretending to be a lion. You’re tapping into your inner beast.

• Not Pet Play: Pet players take on specific animal roles with caretaking and training. Primal isn’t about training. It's instinct.

Typical Traits of the Primal Hunter/Predator

• High energy, alert, and reactive to their environment and prey.

• Intense focus on the present moment and sensory experience.

• Often displays confidence, assertiveness, and a commanding presence.

• Can blend physical dominance with psychological play, reading and responding to the prey’s cues instinctively.

• Enjoys pushing boundaries within negotiated limits, often exploring fear, arousal, and surrender.

Common Practices

• Chasing and Hunting Games: Teasing, stalking, and playfully pursuing the prey both physically and psychologically.

• Pouncing or Capturing: Incorporates safe, consensual tackling, holding, or pinning as part of the play.

• Marking or Claiming: Through scratches, bites, scents, or symbolic gestures (collars, scratches, or temporary markings).

• Sensory Play: Engages senses fully. Sound, smell, touch, and visual cues are heightened to enhance the primal connection.

• Territory Play: Using space, positioning, or props to create a “hunting ground” dynamic.

How about submissive archetypes?

Genus: Submissive

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Genus: Masochist

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Genus: Slave/Puppet

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Genus: Brat

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Genus: Rope Bottom/Rope Bunny

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Genus: Littles & Middles

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Genus: Pets

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Genus: Prey

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Parasites and Mimicry in the
D/s Ecosystem 🦠

Fake Dominants

Class: Manipulare

Feeding on Vulnerability and Trust. Healthy D/s is based on mutualism where both partners gain, grow, and flourish.

Fake dominants cannot engage in this. Instead, they feed on:

• a submissive’s desire to please

• need for leadership

• vulnerability

• emotional openness

They consume these resources without offering care, structure, or safety in return.

Order: Coercitivia

Violating Ecosystem Ethics

Just as parasites bypass a host’s biological defenses (or use it against the host), fake dominants bypass the ethical defenses of D/s:

• they avoid negotiation

• ignore boundaries

• pressure the submissive into unsafe or undesired behaviors

• weaponize role expectation (“a real sub would…”)

Their existence undermines the entire system’s health.

Family: Illusioriae

Destabilizing the Environment

Fake dominants weaken the kink environment by:

• creating fear around dominance

• causing burnout or trauma in submissive partners

• damaging the reputation of real dominants

• making newcomers hesitant to trust or engage

They reduce the biodiversity of the D/s ecosystem by driving people away.

Genus: Falsidom

Thriving Where Education & Accountability Measures Are Scarce (or non-existent)

Parasites thrive where hosts lack defenses. Fake dominants thrive where submissives lack:

• community support

• mentorship

• safety education

• experience

They exploit knowledge gaps as entry points.

Species: Fake Dom/Domme

Unsustainable Dynamics

Because they do not understand the responsibilities of dominance, fake dominants cannot form sustaining relationships.

When the submissive stops providing:

• admiration

• attention, and/or

• compliance

The parasitic cycle collapses. They move to a new host and repeat.

The Difference Between Dominants Seeking Mentorship, Service Tops, and Fake dominants

Intention and transparency.

❤️‍🔥 Dominants Seeking Mentorship are transparent about their lack of experience but look to those with more time in the community to learn from them, be they fellow Dominants or submissives. Because you know who knows what works for submissives in a dynamic? That's right. Other submissives.

❤️‍🔥 Service Tops are present to perform a service, as their title states. They are not entering into a Dominant/submissive dynamic. They are defined by the function they, as a person, are performing for a particular scene or purpose, such as:

• administering rope or sensation work

• preparing space

• offering structured support

• organizing or facilitating a ritual

• topping in a way that centers someone else’s needs

Once the scene or need has been resolved, the Service Top's role is concluded.

The Service Top role can be adopted by any archetype in the right circumstances. They are educated and execute their role while keeping consent and safety front and center. If you've ever been to a public dungeon and someone offered to demonstrate a technique with you there, then you've met a Service Top.

❌ Fake Dominants are self-serving. They have little regard for the feelings of others and only imitate what others do because they cannot or will not learn how best practices help their partner and/or the community at large

Fake Submissives

Healthy D/s relies on a balance of structure and trust. These imposters exploit:

• dominant caretaker instincts

• the desire to teach or guide

• emotional labor

• the need to protect or support a partner
  

They drain these resources without offering genuine obedience, vulnerability, or follow-through.

Class: Manipulare

Parasites disguise themselves as harmless or needy.

Fake submissives mimic:

• fragility

• eagerness

• compliance

• softness

• the appearance of wanting guidance
  

But the submission is only surface-level. Their mimicry is designed to gain access, not to surrender power.

Order: Coercitivia

Like parasites that manipulate host biology, fake submissives manipulate D/s norms to avoid accountability:

• they demand guidance but reject boundaries

• insist they “can’t” communicate clearly

• refuse to learn protocols or expectations

• weaponize helplessness to avoid responsibility

• use praise-seeking or crisis to redirect attention
  

Their goal is to receive, not to serve.

Family: Illusioriae

Fake submissives weaken the ecosystem by:

• burning out dominants with emotional drain

• creating confusion about what healthy submission actually is

• sabotaging scenes through inconsistency

• causing dominants to doubt themselves or withdraw from the community
  

This reduces the health and diversity of the entire D/s environment.

Genus: Pretensarii

Thriving on Inexperience

Parasites find success where hosts lack defenses. Fake submissives are more likely to thrive with dominants who are:

• new

• unseasoned

• struggle with maintaining boundaries themselves

• overly responsible

• eager to mentor

They rely on the dominant’s desire to help, support, or lead.

Species: Fake Submissive

Because they do not actually surrender, invest, or participate, the dynamic becomes one-sided.

When the dominant begins enforcing structure or expecting consistency, the fake submissive often reacts by:

• withdrawing

• deflecting

• blaming

• seeking a new dominant to feed on

The cycle repeats until boundaries and community awareness stop it.

The Difference Between Submissives Seeking Mentorship, Service Bottoms, and Fake Submissives

Intention and transparency.

Submissives Seeking Mentorship may be eager to serve but they should also be prepared to demonstrate humility. Vetting is a never-ending process for both the sub and the Dom and should a sub resist someone's vetting process, this should be considered the first red flag.

Service Bottoms are present to perform a service, as their title states. They are not entering into a Dominant/submissive dynamic. They are defined by the function they, as a person, is performing for a particular scene or purpose.

A Service bottom typically:

• Follows scene instructions because that is the agreed-upon role

• Engages in acts of service without giving up personal authority outside the scene

• Maintains agency and active participation

• May give feedback, negotiate clearly, and retain equal power outside the activity

• Consensually allows the Top to direct the scene as an activity, not as a relationship dynamic

A service bottom explicitly negotiates the limits of authority and offers task-based service, not submission. The service bottom role can be adopted by any archetype under the right circumstances.

❌ Fake submissives claim to be submissive but do not want to relinquish power. They refuse direction unless it aligns with what they want anyway. They tend to hide behind the title of "submissive" as a way to manipulate, control access, or avoid accountability. They are about control, not genuine power exchange.

This section is not making a One True Way argument. We all show up in scenes and dynamics in our own ways and those presentations can be influenced by trauma, attachment wounds, and any number of communication snafus. We all make mistakes that can hopefully become teachable moments. This section is NOT referring to folks showing up authentically.

But we all encounter the problematic ones sooner or later. The "dominant" or "submissive" who read a book once or listened to a podcast about D/s dynamics and decided they know better. Before you know it, there are repeated consent violations, injuries passed off as "getting carried away", and blatant gaslighting. These individuals function like parasitic organisms within the D/s ecosystem. They infiltrate healthy environments, mimic beneficial species, and siphon off the emotional and psychological resources of others.

Kingdom: Animalia

Yes, they are animals, too. Just barely, though.

Phylum: Imitaria

These organisms imitate the appearance, language, or posture of true power-dynamic organisms but lack the internal structure found in the Eroticae phylum.

Their hallmark traits include:

• Mimicry: copying behaviors of authentic D/s archetypes

• Parasitism: attempting to feed off the ecosystem of Eroticae without contributing

• Instability: unpredictable, inconsistent behavioral patterns

• Lack of Bonding Structures: incapable of forming true Top/Bottom dyads

• Feigning Competence: presenting dominance or submission as a façade rather than an identity or dynamic
  
  

But this is camouflage, not competence. They imitate the role without understanding consent, ethics, or responsibility.