quote:

ORIGINAL: boltaction

When is it Normal?
D/s is a subset of the BDSM fetish community. It The initials standstands for Dominant/Submissive, a term that means one person in a relationship is sexually, physically or emotionally dominant over the “submissive” opposite partner, although one does not necessarily have to be sadomasochistic. Enduring themes in culture and civilization have shown dominance of one group of humans over the other, but in terms of eroticism it is difficult to know if in far history there have been people enjoying D/s relationships for romantic reasons, or for more practical. Either way, there is are currently growing and extensive communities all across the United States and Europe of people self-identifying into the D/s stereotype, [from all different walks of life.] This is an awkward sentence. Try moving the part in parenthese so that it follows the words "and Europe" End your sentence following the word "stereotype."

Though two consenting adults are privileged to the privacy of their relationship, the issue at hand is when the line between consent and abuse becomes murky. A careful analysis is required by the psychological community as to what can be considered healthy, and what cannot. When two people consent to a relationship that is at its core abusive, when does it become a problem of society as a whole?

Dominants are seen as naturally cruel, angry people who relish their exacting discipline or control over another person. This alone shows the violent nature of D/s. A dominant must be cruel in some way in order to hold control over their submissive, much like a fire needs fuel. Without aggression, D/s cannot work. Little is known about the psychological triggers required for Dominant sexual themes.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the submissive, which interestingly makes up the majority of D/s membership according to multiple text sources. These men and women typically seek humiliation or some form of punishment for sexual arousal (i.e. release) and because of societal guides, usually do not advertise their sexual perversion. Submissive types can be perceived as self-hating people, usually with a history of abuse; they seek to relive these themes over and over without actually facing why.

When a sexual theme is accepted in society, it becomes marginalized. Is "marginalized" the word you want here? From the direction of the paragraph, I was thinking you might mean "sensationalized." The capitalist system has a recurring theme in which acceptance of a perversion by culture is used as a tool to sell or promote existing goods and services, which requires advertising. Because D/s has roots in abusive and traumatic experience, it should not be advertised in public. Current society does not advertise other abusive relationships, why should this be acceptable?



Normal Changes Over Time
Erotic D/s has been a theme of some human relationships for centuries, with art perceived as such before 500 B.C. VERY awkward. You might consider rewriting this. Read it out loud to be sure it says what you want it to say. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote “The Canterbury Tales” in the 14th century (with reference to a man allowing a woman to have complete control over his character), and Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch wrote “Venus in Furs” in 1870, a text of such description that his name is used for the term masochism. <-- Your first period throughout this entire paragraph. Run-on sentence. revise. According to history, D/s is not a recent phenomenon.

Because of the opportunity for danger or abuse, members of the lifestyle (whether in public or private) [are reported to] this is unnecessary.  have adopted a terminology called Safe, Sane and Consensual, and books written on the subject hold it in great importance. It appears that all popular educational materials on the lifestyle stress safety in every realm of the relationship, especially in the field of physical discipline/punishment and emotional cues, even to the point of human body diagrams depicting where to (and to not) beat a consenting partner with certain objects.

There is no evidence that dominant people are cruel or sadistic in their lives. Though this role has not received the same level of research as submissive proclivities, recurring data has shown that for most dominants, the role is acted out solely in mutually agreed upon areas and times, for the safety and protection of both partners. Dominance in an erotic context does not mean dominant desires in other realms nor does it necessarily require an innate desire to be one: The term “service-top” is when a partner takes the role of dominant for the erotic gratification of his or her partner only.

Just as dominants cannot be so readily assumed This is awkward. Are you saying dominance cannot be so readily assumed or are you saying that dominants cannot be so readily identified? by the nature of a person, submissive partners are varied and seemingly just as dualistic. It is false to assume a history of abuse in any play partner: much research in erotic submission over the last two decades show little if any correlation between this fetish and an abusive childhood. It is important to remember that there are large groups of males who identify with erotic submission, and because of societies society's ideological stance, do not typically identify their desires openly. Either it's "societies" (plural) and must  be followed by "stances" (plural) or it's possessive "society's" and you can let "stance" stand.

In most major cities in the world, erotic Dominance and Submission has found an outlet, and has had one for more than 40 years. Research of brothels in the 1960’s provided evidence that a growing number of clientele requested sexual release with some form of role-play, and since the advent of the Internet the number of local communities has grown tremendously. Some have grown so large that there are now workshops, counseling, education and a thriving industry surrounding it. It is unknown what effect such open discussion will have on society as a whole, but by having education provided, these groups may be providing a benefit in terms of understanding. (awkward) In conclusion, erotic dominance/submission appears to be practiced by many people assumed by society to be “healthy”, and does not appear prove a history of abuse on its own merits.Beginning with "In conclusion," make this into another paragraph. Expand just a little. This would be an excellent place for a closing quotation, preferably from an expert in the field of psychology.