Interest in creating an agreed sensation, challenge or psychological intensity for an adult who wants that experience. It does not mean enjoying another person's unwanted suffering.
Back to the glossaryPower & role
Sadism and masochism
Also known as S&M · SM · sadomasochism
In consensual adult kink, sadism and masochism describe interests in creating or receiving agreed physical sensation, discomfort or psychological intensity. The terms do not by themselves imply cruelty, abuse, self-harm or a clinical disorder, and they never include causing suffering without consent.
SourcesDe Neef et al. (2019), biopsychosocial systematic reviewDunkley & Brotto (2020), BDSM consent reviewWuyts & Morrens (2022), biological systematic reviewWHO ICD-11 clinical descriptions and diagnostic requirements (2024)NHS first-aid guidanceDomestic Abuse Act 2021, section 71 (England and Wales)Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022, section 27
Power & role
In brief
Agreed intensity is not a licence to harm.
Sadism and masochism—often combined as sadomasochism or shortened to S/M—are community terms for complementary but independent interests. One adult may enjoy creating a carefully agreed intense experience, another may value receiving it, and some people enjoy both positions or neither. Sensation can matter physically, emotionally, symbolically or as part of a role; the label cannot reveal what a particular person wants, how intense it is, or whether any specialist object is involved.
Interest in receiving or experiencing agreed sensation, discomfort, challenge or vulnerability. It is not evidence that a person wants harm generally or has consented to every intense activity.
An umbrella expression for the overlap between these interests. It may describe a scene, preference or community vocabulary rather than a fixed identity or relationship role.
Diagnostic classifications use narrower requirements involving the nature of an arousal pattern, consent, distress, impairment and serious risk. A community label or consensual adult interest is not a diagnosis.
Terminology, roles and overlap
S/M forms one part of the wider BDSM acronym, but it is not synonymous with bondage, dominance or submission. A person who creates sensation is not necessarily dominant, and a person who receives it is not necessarily submissive. The same adult may change position by partner, occasion or type of sensation, while some experiences are deliberately mutual rather than divided into giver and receiver.
Everyday speech sometimes uses ‘sadist’ to mean a cruel person and ‘masochist’ to mean someone who enjoys any difficulty. Those casual meanings should not be imported into an account of consensual adult sexuality. Conversely, a self-chosen kink label cannot make coercion, assault or disregard for another person's wellbeing consensual.
Sensation, symbolism and associated objects
People may value intensity for different reasons: focused bodily sensation, anticipation, endurance, trust, role expression, emotional contrast or the meaning of giving and receiving attention. Not every S/M interest centres on pain, and visible intensity does not reliably indicate how an experience feels to the participant. Research cannot assign one motive or psychological history to everyone using the label.
Associated objects may include textured fabric, leather garments, padded implements, protective coverings, timers or agreed communication tokens. Their relevance may lie in material, weight, sound, appearance, ritual or symbolism rather than a single prescribed use. Ordinary objects should not be assumed suitable merely because they look familiar, and specialist branding does not prove that an item fits a person, context or purpose. This page describes meanings rather than techniques.
Consent, wellbeing and UK legal limits
Consent must cover the particular people, activity, intensity and circumstances, and it can be revised or withdrawn. Agreement to one sensation does not imply agreement to another; accepting a role, garment or object does not create blanket permission. A safeword or other signal may support communication, but ordinary words, distress and loss of capacity still matter. Silence or enduring discomfort is not proof of consent.
Physical and psychological intensity can cause injury or distress, and consent does not remove those risks. NHS first-aid guidance should take priority when someone is unresponsive, breathing abnormally or otherwise needs urgent help. In England and Wales, section 71 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provides that consent is not a defence to serious harm inflicted for sexual gratification. Northern Ireland has a related statutory provision, while Scotland applies its own criminal law. The legal position depends on the conduct and jurisdiction, not the S/M label.
What research and diagnosis can show
Systematic reviews describe BDSM as a diverse group of fantasies, activities, relationships and identities. De Neef and colleagues found a growing but largely descriptive evidence base, while Wuyts and Morrens included only ten biological studies and called for replication. These studies cannot provide a universal explanation, predict an individual's response or turn a community label into a clinical finding.
The World Health Organization distinguishes atypical interests involving consenting adults from paraphilic disorders. Consensual adult S/M is not a disorder merely because it is unconventional; clinical concern instead requires the relevant diagnostic features, such as marked distress not explained solely by rejection or significant risk of injury or death. Only a suitably qualified clinician can assess an individual, and an object, fantasy, role or chosen identity is not diagnostic evidence.
Non-graphic examples
What the umbrella may include
- Two adults agreeing that one will create a time-limited intense sensory experience while the other chooses to receive it.
- A person enjoying psychological challenge or anticipation without wanting physical pain.
- Partners changing or sharing roles rather than treating sadistic and masochistic interests as fixed opposites.
- A leather garment, textured fabric or symbolic token contributing atmosphere or meaning without determining what activity occurs.
- An adult deciding that a previously appealing sensation is no longer wanted and having that decision respected immediately.
Reviewed 30 August 2026
Keep exploring.
This detailed field note uses the best available evidence without treating one community sample as universal. Evidence limits and UK context are stated where relevant.
Prepared by The UK Kink Guide editorial team. Read the evidence and review methodology.
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