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Switch

A switch is someone who can act as both a top and a bottom.[1]

Sources: grade B×1, grade C×7. Last checked 8 October 2026. What the grades mean

A switch takes part in BDSM activities sometimes as a top and at other times as a bottom, or sometimes as a dominant and at other times as a submissive.[2] The terms top, bottom and switch describe an individual's role during a BDSM activity.[3] They can also describe a broader psychological, social or sexual identity, or simply someone's usual preference.[3]

Top and bottom are not the same as dominant and submissive.[4][5] A dominant exhibits control within a power exchange dynamic, while a top applies sensations within a scene.[4] A submissive cedes power in a power exchange dynamic, while a bottom may not have power exchange as part of their kinky play.[5] Top and bottom refer to giving and receiving roles, not to who is physically on top.[6]

Other communities use related words.[1] The older terms active and passive are still often used.[1] In the context of gay sex, the equivalent terms are top, bottom and versatile.[1] Switch is sometimes used as another word for versatile.[7]

In a UK survey of 470 people across several paraphilic interest groups, nonbinary people were more likely to switch roles.[8]

Roles as a spectrum Dominant at one end, submissive at the other, switch in between. Many people move along the line. Dominant Switch Submissive takes control moves between gives control
Roles are agreed for a scene, not fixed identities. Top and bottom describe who is active, which is a separate question.

Sources

  1. Source grade CLangdridge, Darren; Richards, C.; John Barker, Meg (2007). Safe, Sane and Consensual: Contemporary Perspectives on Sadomasochism . Palgrave Macmillan. p. 140. ISBN 978-0230517745 . books.google.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  2. Source grade C"Switches and Switching in Kink & BDSM" . KYNK 101 . Retrieved 2022-09-24 . kynk101.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  3. Source grade CJones, Angela (2013). A Critical Inquiry into Queer Utopias . Springer. pp. 111– 112. ISBN 978-1137311979 . books.google.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  4. Source grade C"Dominant Honorifics in BDSM" . KYNK 101 . Retrieved 2022-09-24 . kynk101.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  5. Source grade C"Submissive Honorifics in BDSM" . KYNK 101 . Retrieved 2022-09-24 . kynk101.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  6. Source grade CJones, Angela (2013). A Critical Inquiry into Queer Utopias . Springer. pp. 111– 112. ISBN 978-1137311979 . books.google.com; "Dominant Honorifics in BDSM" . KYNK 101 . Retrieved 2022-09-24 . kynk101.com; "Submissive Honorifics in BDSM" . KYNK 101 . Retrieved 2022-09-24 . kynk101.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, switch)
  7. Source grade C"What Does It Mean to Be a "Bottom" or "Submissive" in Lesbian Sex?" . Autostraddle . 2018-07-10. Archived from the original on 2020-02-26 . Retrieved 2020-02-26 . autostraddle.com (via Wikipedia: Top, bottom, and versatile)
  8. Source grade BBrown A, Barker ED, Friedrich S, Rahman Q. A Survey of the United Kink-dom: Investigating Five Paraphilic Interest Groups and Their Demographic and Psychological Correlates. J Sex Res. 2026. doi:10.1080/00224499.2025.2486472

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.