Dominance/Submission: Power exchange between partners.

Dominatrix/Domme/Dom: A person, usually hired, to function as a top or sadist. (Dom is the male version; domme and dominatrix are the female versions).

Dungeons: Rooms that are decorated for SM play.

Erotica: Sexual literature and photos.

Fantasy Play: Acting out sexual fantasies.

Fantasy: A mental image or illusion, sometimes sexual.

Fellatio: Oral sex performed on a man.

Fetish: An object that replaces people as primary object of love.

Fisting: Inserting a fist or hand into the vagina or anus.

Flagellation: Striking a person with an object.

Frottage: Rubbing one's body against a partner or object for arousal.

Gay: A man who prefers sex with another man.

Genital Massage: Stimulating the genitals with the hands, usually during sensual massage.

GLBT: Generic descriptive term for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Handkerchief Codes: Color codes that identify sexual preferences.

Harness: Body harnesses used in suspension or penis restriction, or straps worn to support a dildo for penetrating another partner.

Hermaphrodite: Person who has both female and male genitalia.

Homoeroticism: Sexual arousal from a person of the same sex.

Hot Wax: A sex game in which hot wax is melted onto a partner.

Kegel Exercises: Exercise of the pelvic muscles that control orgasm.

Lap Dancing: Squatting above a sitting person and rubbing against them to create arousal without touching their genitals.

Lesbian: A woman who prefers to have sex with other women.

Masochism: The desire for and ability to process intense/painful sensation for enjoyment and sexual arousal. Sometimes it is indulged in for the endorphins alone, without arriving at any sexual act. Generally an activity for two people.

Massage: Rubbing the body to increase circulation.

Masturbation: Stimulating one's own sexual organs and erogenous zones.

Menage á Trois: Three people having sex together.

Online Sex: Verbal sex between partners via email, chat room or other Internet device.

Orgy: Group sex.

Paraphilia: Sexual arousal to an unusual or socially unacceptable object or act.

Pheromones: Natural chemicals or hormones that induce a sexual response.

Phone Sex: Verbal sex between partners on a phone.

Play Room: A room equipped with sex paraphernalia and used primarily for sex play.

Play: The consensual acting out of a role or game, sometimes sexual.

Polygamy: One person with multiple marriage partners.

Queer: Generic descriptive term for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.

Rimming: Penetrating the anus with the tongue.

Ritual Sex: Sex performed with specific rules of conduct (i.e., Wicca, weddings, slave training).

Sadism: Empowerment and arousal from the interaction of inflicting desired intense stimulation/pain on a willing partner.

Sadomasochism: The combination of inflicting and receiving pain as a means to sexual arousal.

Sensory Deprivation: A practice done to intensify anxiety, and to heighten the other senses that are left uninhibited.

Sensual Massage: Combining elements of sensuality with massage to produce arousal and possibly orgasm.

Sex Magick: The use of witchcraft rituals for sexual purposes.

Sex Slave: A slave whose designation is specifically for sexual purposes. It is not simply someone who enjoys being dominated. Many who enjoy being dominated and are not sex slaves.

Sex Surrogates: People who are trained to help other people overcome sexual dysfunctions.

Sex Toys: Mechanical objects used to assist in masturbation or sex play.

Sexologists: People who study the science of sex.

Shaving: Removing the hair of a partner or oneself, usually pubic, with a razor for arousal or as an obedient act to demonstrate submission to ownership.

Slave: Someone who has agreed to give up all personal rights to their dominant or master. This may or may not ever include sexual contact.

Slings: Swings or other forms of support or suspension from which a person may engage in sex.

SM: Abbreviation for sadomasochism.

Spanking: Using one's hand to slap a partner's buttocks for sensory enhancement and arousal.

Stripping: Removing one's clothes, sometimes performed on stage in an erotic manner.

Submission: Surrendering control to a dominant partner.

Swing: An object that allows a person or two to be suspended and move back and forth during sex.

Swinging: Group sex or wife swapping.

Tantra: Yoga-type sexual discipline.

Top: The person who controls the stimuli during sex games.

Transsexual: A person whose gender identity does not match the physical sex organs of their body. They can be in the process of physically changing their sex (pre-operative) or have already changed their physical sex surgically (post-operative).

Transvestite: Person aroused by cross-dressing.

Voyeurism: Arousal by watching others without their consent.