Male submission

A male slave publicly serving a mistress in New York City

Male submission or malesub is a situation in BDSM and other sexual activities in which the submissive partner is male. Studies suggest that between 26%-46% of men who are active in BDSM prefer a submissive role.

Male submission in BDSM can take many different forms and include a variety of activities, including cock and ball torture, forced feminization, chastity, cuckoldry, erotic humiliation, facesitting, golden showers, pegging, foot fetishism, and clothed female, naked male. During the 18th century, some European brothels began specializing in restraint, and flagellation, as well as other activities which involved female domination and male submission.

Prevalence and research

Femdom flag in the Leather subculture

In BDSM

A 2008 survey of BDSM practitioners in California found that 26% of male respondents preferred submissive roles, while a later 2013 study from the Netherlands found that 33% of men who participated in BDSM were primarily submissive. Andrea Duarte Silva's 2015 thesis at the University of Oslo found that 46.6% of men included in the study were mainly submissive, with 24% being switches and 29.5% being dominant. Silva also found that men were more likely to enjoy pain as a pleasure enhancer during BDSM, and also found that maleness is correlated with pain as a submission enhancer.

A dominant female with her male pet submissive at Folsom Street Fair 2010

In general population

A Czech study in 2007 found that about 13.8% of men in the general population would prefer the submissive role in sex. A similar 2018 study with a smaller sample size found that number to be 6.1%.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "malesub". English Wiktionary. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  2. ↑ "Dominant or Submissive? Paradox of Power in Sexual Relations". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  3. ↑ "Sexually Dominant Women and the Men Who Desire Them Part III". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  4. ↑ "Dominant or Submissive? Paradox of Power in Sexual Relations". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  5. ↑ "A beginner's guide to foot fetish". Metro. 2017-05-31. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  6. ↑ "A Loving Introduction to BDSM". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  7. ↑ Saletan, William (10 July 2013). "Spank You Very Much". Slate. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Silva, Andrea Duarte (2015). "Through Pain, More Gain?: A Survey into the Psychosocial Benefits of Sadomasochism". University of Oslo. p. 41.
  9. ↑ Silva 2015, pp. 52, 54.
  10. ↑ Jozifkova, Eva; Flegr, Jaroslav (1 January 2007). "Dominance, submissivity (and homosexuality) in general population. Testing of evolutionary hypothesis of sadomasochism by internet-trap-method". Neuro endocrinology letters. 27: 711–8. Retrieved 22 September 2026.
  11. ↑ Jozifkova, Eva (6 February 2018). "Sexual Arousal by Dominance and Submissiveness in the General Population: How Many, How Strongly, and Why?". Deviant Behavior. doi:10.1080/01639625.2017.1410607. Retrieved 22 September 2026.