Domination & submission _ the BDSM relationship handbook ( PDFDrive )

Types of Switches
As complicated as it can be deciding whether or not you are a Switch, the issue
can become even more convoluted when we progress to the next logical
question, which is: What kind of Switch are you? For our purposes, we will be
categorizing them primarily by whether they are predominantly D/s or BDSM,
and by their dominance-orientation. One should also keep in mind that there is
often a significant amount of overlap between a person’s D/s mindset and his or
her BDSM activities. I assign Switches to eight categories. They are the
Provisional Switch, the Dominant-leaning D/s Switch, the Submissive-leaning
D/s Switch, the Balanced D/s Switch, the Top-leaning BDSM Switch, the
Bottom-leaning BDSM Switch, the Balanced BDSM Switch, and the D/s-BDSM
Switch.
As we cover each of the following categories of Switches, keep in mind that D/s
is all about the relationship dynamic, while BDSM is about the kink activities.
For many people, there is a great deal of overlap that occurs between the two
but, for others, there may not be any at all. It’s very much analogous to love and
sex. For some people, it’s all about love. For others, it’s all about sex. Ideally,
for most people, it’s nice to have both, and preferably with the same person. At
the risk of beating a dead horse, we can take this analogy even further: Being a
Switch could, as we mentioned earlier in this chapter, easily be compared to
being a bisexual. A man could be madly in love with his wife, yet sexually
attracted to both men and women. In such a scenario, his relationship dynamic
may be purely heterosexual, but his sexual turn-on is bisexual. The same sort of
thing often happens when it comes to D/s relationships and BDSM turn-ons.
Provisional Switch
The Provisional Switch, as we explained earlier in this chapter, is a Switch who
is relatively new to the BDSM lifestyle and has had comparatively few real-life
D/s relationships. His orientation may change as he gains experience and
becomes involved in more relationships over time. This should carry no stigma
or negative connotations, as everyone has to start somewhere, and
acknowledging the inevitability of change simply makes good sense. Example:
Miranda has been in the lifestyle for about a year. She was introduced to it by a
friend, and has become active in attending the local group’s get-togethers and
events, where she has been eagerly learning all that she can. Thus far, she has