Sexual Roleplaying

Sexual roleplaying is the sexual behavior of playing some kind of character during a sexual encounter, in order to evoke a sexual fantasy in oneself and/or one's partner.

Sexual roles can be very general designations of power position, sometimes abstracted to "top" and "bottom," or very specific, detailed fantasies. Nearly any role could become the base material for an erotic experience, but certain scenarios are typical in pornography and probably in real life as well, though it is difficult to collect empirical data on such things. Many of the most common sexual roleplays, such as Doctor/Nurse, Guard/Prisoner and Teacher/Student, involve a power differential. These roleplays are often, but certainly not always, carried out in the context of a BDSM encounter. See power exchange for more on power relationships and sex. Sexual role-play is common in BDSM .

Roleplay

One form of sexual roleplaying is the rape fantasy, also called "ravishment". Ravishment has become the more popular term in BDSM circles, as it makes a distinction between consensual roleplay and nonconsensual assault.

Since the illusion of non-consensuality is important to the fantasy, one or more safewords are typically employed. This way, a participant can protest without stopping the scene, unless the safeword is used. Often a variation on the "stop-light" system is used, with different colors designating different messages: "red" to stop everything, "yellow" to slow down or take it easy, and so forth. For scenes where there is an element of surprise, the top or "ravisher" may use a "startword" or other identifying signal.

In healthy ravishment scenes, all participants carefully negotiate what will transpire beforehand. Limits are respected and made very clear, to maintain safety and consensuality. Such negotiation would also include discussion of emotional issues for both partners, especially if there has been a prior history of actual sexual abuse or assault.

Some common character couplings in sexual roleplaying include:

• Boss/Secretary
• Captain/First Mate
• Celebrity/Fan
• Drill Sergeant/New Recruit
• Doctor/Nurse
• Jailer/Prisoner
• Master/Batta
• Master/Slave
• Pirate/Prisoner
• Police Officer/Civilian, Police Officer/Suspect
• Priest/Altar Boy, Priest/Penitent, Priest/Nun
• Prostitute/Client
• Rapist/Victim
• Rich lady/Chauffeur
• Rich man/French maid
• Vampire/Human
• Scientist/Subject
• Stewardess/Passenger,Pilot/Stewardess
• Stranger/Stranger
• Teacher or professor/Student
• Celebrity/Body Guard