Sexual roleplay is roleplay that has a strong erotic element. Usually, it is done by two or more people. These people behave like actors, in a given role. People do this to bring a sexual fantasy to life. The ideas is that the roles or scenes played are sexually arousing. It may be a form of foreplay. People also do it to overcome sexual inhibitions. When they play a character or a role, they dare to do things that they would not do when they were not playing the role. Sexual roleplay often takes place in the real world. It may also take place online, in internet forums, chat rooms, video games or by e-mail. Using a virtual world will make it possible to do things that are not possible in the real world.
How it is done
Different people have different ways of doing sexual roleplay. In many cases, it may be simple, and improvised ("you are a puppy, I am your trainer, and will teach you to do things"). In other cases, it may be more elaborate. People sometimes wear costumes. Sometimes, there even is a script that says who should do what action, at what time.
What it is about
The roleplay may be a fantasy based on any social role. Erotic roleplay is also often done to be able to accommodate sexual fetishes. An example of such a fetish is wearing certain kinds of clothing. Such fantasies are often also about one or more people being at least partially nude. Sexual roleplay often includes elements of dominance and submission, such as sexual bondage and erotic humiliation.
Where it is done
Sometimes the roleplay is done in places where other people may also be present. Erotic humiliation may for example include forcing people to take their clothes off (or to show parts of their body, called flashing) in a public place, or before an audience.
Another thing may be that not all of the people in a house take part in the role play, and house guests can stay and watch people doing their role play. Before they do their roleplay, people may also change the location from the more or less private house or apartment, to a more or less public bar, club or park.
One role may require to flirt with a stranger, or to seduce the other parner's friend. It may also reuire one or both partners to strp in a car, a park, or another public place.
Roleplay online
The internet has made it possible for people to have sexual encounters online. This is known as cybersex. Such encounters may involve roleplay. In a 2015 US survey, up to 22% of respondents stated that they had performed sexual role play in their lifetime.
Agreement
Note also, that even if the roleplay involves "forcing" someone to do something, or becoming violent, people have agreed on this beforehand.
BDSM
Woman in sexual roleplay, in a kajira pose at Folsom Street Fair. The woman is posing in an approximation to nadu, the typical position of a "pleasure slave".
Many of the most common sexual roleplays involve a power differential and form part of the dominance and submission aspect of BDSM. Roles can be a general designations of power positions, or very specific, detailed fantasies. Some people, such as those living the Gorean lifestyle make use of an entire imaginary world. The controlling player is often called the top or dominant. The controlled one is called the bottom or submissive. Most people involved in BDSM have agreed on safewords.
Examples of scenarios
Uniform fetish: A Japanese woman dressed as a school student.Police officer catching a burglar, a form of roleplay
Common scenarios include:
Burglary
Doctor/Nurse/Patient: medical fetishism where the participants play the roles of doctor, nurse, or patient, e.g., enema play.
Escort – Client: one partner assumes the role of paid escort for an encounter.
Executive – Secretary: one partner assumes the role of a business executive while the other takes the role of their secretary.
Handyman – Housewife: the tradesman enters the housewife's home initially with the intent of carrying out plumbing/maintenance work.
Master – Slave: the slave is required to comply with all demands of the master.
Photographer – Model: this allows one partner to photograph the other as a precursor to sexual interaction.
Stripper – Client: one participant performs a striptease for the other.
Teacher – Student: the student dresses for the part and must do as they are told, or are punished.
Circus master - Lion: the lion is given a demand and must do it for the sake of entertainment.
Sex doll - Doll owner: the sex doll must stay still and be obedient.
Pilot – flight attendant: One partner takes on the role of the pilot while the other plays a seductive flight attendant.
Mechanic – client: While one partner plays the mechanic the other takes on the role of the client. The client tries to pay the mechanic via seduction.
Soldier – girlfriend: A returning soldier is surprised by his girlfriend in a stunning lingerie set.
Other scenarios include:
Ageplay: where an individual acts and/or treats another as if they were a different age. The practice can be regressive, in which the goal is to re-experience childhood, or sexual, recreating a sexual relationship with people of the pretended ages. Generally this can involve someone pretending to be younger than they actually are, but more rarely can involve assuming an older role.
Animal roleplay: where a player is treated as a non-human animal such as a dog, pony, or cat.
Authority figure/Misbehaving Adult: where a player takes on the role of an authority figure and blackmails or humiliates his or her partner into sexual activity.
Clown kink in the manner of coulrophilia between a young person and a performing mime, jester, or circus clown
Gender-play: where one or more players take on roles of another gender.
Incest fantasy: also known as incest play, where two or more play the role of family members.
Owner/Inanimate object: such as the bottom being human furniture.
Prison fetish: situational play set in a prison environment. Given real life prisons are same-sex communities, this fetish does lend itself to male on male or female on female activities and settings. Opposite gender play is also possible between inmates and guards or when the setting includes a co-ed facility/institution. Prison play is also an expansion of the uniform fetish by use of inmate, guard, and staff uniforms.
Torturer/Captive prisoner: where one player is a captor who abuses the other, can also include ravishment and kidnap scenarios.
Uniform fetishism: one participant dresses in uniform (for instance as a school student, cheerleader, French maid, etc.), while the other participant plays an authority figure (e.g., a parent, teacher, coach, police officer). Can also include scenarios with both participants in uniforms.
Supernatural Seductions: One participant takes the role of a predatory vampire, incubus, succubus or witch and seduces, enthralls or claims the other participant as their victim.
Rape play involves acting out a scene simulating coercive or forced sex. As with all types of play, communication, consent and safety is important. Not to be confused with consensual non-consent.
Sexologist Gloria Brame lists a number of these scenarios, as does Trevor Jacques.
