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Scene

A scene is a specific period of time, agreed to by both parties, during which BDSM actions take place, and it is also referred to as "play" or a "session".[1]

Sources: grade C×6, grade D×1. Last checked 8 October 2026. What the grades mean

Participants usually derive pleasure from a scene, even though many of the practices involved would be unpleasant under other circumstances.[1] Explicit sexual activity may occur within a session, but it is not essential.[1]

Within a scene, top and dominant are widely used for the physically active or controlling participants, while bottom and submissive are widely used for the physically receptive or controlled participants.[2] The interaction between them, where control is surrendered to the top, is sometimes known as power exchange.[2] Terms for roles vary widely among subcultures.[2]

Pre-play negotiation is commonplace, especially among partners who do not know each other very well.[3] These conversations concern each partner's interests and fantasies and establish a framework of acceptable and unacceptable activities.[3] In practice, pick-up scenes at clubs or parties may sometimes involve little negotiation.[3]

Scenes can also take place in public play spaces, from a party at an established community dungeon to a hosted play zone at a nightclub or social event.[2] The parameters of what is allowed vary, and explicit sexual interaction is seen only rarely there and is sometimes banned by the rules of a party or playspace.[2]

Sources

  1. Source grade CMiller, Phillip; Devon, Molly; Granzig, William A. (1995). Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism . Mystic Rose Books. p. 55 . ISBN 978-0-9645960-0-9 . archive.org (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  2. Source grade C"Dictionary of BDSM Terms" . Archived from the original on 2 December 2014 . Retrieved 26 November 2014 . xeromag.com (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  3. Source grade DDavid Stein: S/M's Copernican Revolution:From a Closed World to the Infinite Universe and Safe Sane Consensual: The Evolution of a Shibboleth available at s/m-leather history [ link removed ] (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  4. Source grade CDossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 72, Greenery Press (CA) 2002, ISBN 978-1-890159-36-8 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  5. Source grade CWiseman, Jay (1998). SM 101: A Realistic Introduction . California: Greenery Press. ISBN 978-0-9639763-8-3 .; Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 71, Greenery Press (CA) 2002 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  6. Source grade CDossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , Greenery Press (CA) 2002, ISBN 978-1-890159-36-8 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)
  7. Source grade CWiseman, Jay (1998). SM 101: A Realistic Introduction . California: Greenery Press. ISBN 978-0-9639763-8-3 .; Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy: The New Topping Book , page 111 (via Wikipedia: BDSM)

Grades: A systematic review or official classification, B peer-reviewed study, C expert or community organisation, D practice from the community without research. How we grade sources.

Every claim was checked against its source before publication. Last checked 8 October 2026.