Consensual tickling or tickling fetish refers to any instance of tickling in which the party being tickled has given consent to the party providing the tickling to do so. Some people find tickling to be an erotic experience. They may prefer to be the dominant (tickling) party or the submissive (tickled) party, or they may enjoy both. The people in these roles are often referred to as the "tickler" and the "ticklee" respectively. Some people may prefer to be tickled in specific areas, usually erogenous zones or other particularly sensitive areas of the skin. [1]
A tickle session usually begins with one submissive partner allowing the other to tie them up or restrain them in a position that exposes bare parts of the body, particularly those that are sensitive to tickling. It is commonly associated with the tickling of the bare feet or armpits though many parts of the human body are also deemed ticklish like the sides of the torso, neck, knee, midriff, thighs, navel, and the ribs. For this reason the submissive may be tied in a position that exposes their whole body for the tickler to access and would typically be in their underwear or partially to fully naked. The latter could also be intended as a form of humiliation or exhibitionism for the submissive while being tickled or as visual stimulus for the person doing the tickling.
The bondage methods of the tickling usually follows the same basic methods. The object of the bondage is to render the submissive unable to prevent the tickling, as well as rendering the ticklish areas of the submissive vulnerable. The submissive is usually bound in a sitting or lying position rather than a standing one as to expose the soles of the feet which are often among the most ticklish areas of the body. Other common positions may include over-arm ties, hogties and spread-eagle positions. The restraint of the arms above the head or to the side leaves the upper body and underarms susceptible to the tickling. This enables the tickler to use whichever methods or implements they choose, e.g. fingers, tongue, beard, feathers, brush, pine cones, salt sticks, electric toothbrush or a hairbrush.
Knismolagnia is the experience of "arousal from tickling". [2]
Bondage, in the BDSM subculture, is the practice of consensually tying, binding, or restraining a partner for erotic, aesthetic, or somatosensory stimulation. A partner may be physically restrained in a variety of ways, including the use of rope, cuffs, bondage tape, or self-adhering bandage.
Kinbaku (緊縛) means "tight binding", while Kinbaku-bi (緊縛美) literally means "the beauty of tight binding". Kinbaku is a Japanese style of bondage or BDSM which involves tying a person up using simple yet visually intricate patterns, usually with several pieces of thin rope (often jute, hemp or linen and generally around 6 mm in diameter, but sometimes as small as 4 mm, and between 7–8 m long. In Japanese this natural-fibre rope is known as asanawa. The allusion is to the use of hemp rope for restraining prisoners, as a symbol of power, in the same way that stocks or manacles are used in a Western BDSM context.
Tickling is the act of touching a part of a body in a way that causes involuntary twitching movements or laughter. The word evolved from the Middle English tikelen, perhaps frequentative of ticken, to touch lightly.
An erogenous zone is an area of the human body that has heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may generate a sexual response, such as relaxation, sexual fantasies, sexual arousal and orgasm.
Female submission or femsub is an activity or relationship in which a woman submits to the direction of a sexual partner or has her body used sexually by or for the sexual pleasure of her partner. The expression is often associated with BDSM, where submission to such activity is usually voluntarily and consensual. Submission usually involves a degree of trust by the woman in her partner. The dominant partner is usually a man, but can also be another woman, or there can be multiple dominant partners simultaneously. The submissive woman may derive sexual pleasure or emotional gratification from relinquishing control to a trusted dominant partner.
Bondage in BDSM, is the activity of tying or restraining people using equipment such as chains, cuffs, or collars for mutual erotic pleasure. According to the Kinsey Institute, 12% of females and 22% of males respond erotically to BDSM.
BDSM is a variety of erotic practices involving dominance and submission, roleplaying, restraint, and other interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves as practicing BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture is usually dependent on self-identification and shared experience. Interest in BDSM can range from one-time experimentation to a lifestyle.
The spreadeagle is the position in which a person has their arms outstretched and legs apart, figuratively resembling an eagle with wings spread. It is a style that appears commonly in nature and geometry. In human style, it is represented by the letter "X".
Erotic sexual denial is the practice of refraining from sexual experiences in order to increase erotic arousal and/or tension. It is commonly used as sex play within the context of a dominance and submission relationship, though it can also be a solo practice. The prohibited experience can be narrowly or broadly defined and banned for a specific or indeterminate length of time, depending on the practitioner. The experience withheld can be any favored or desired sexual activities, such as specific acts or positions, provided it is something the practitioner wants.
Suspension bondage is a form of sexual bondage where a bound person is hung from one or more overhead suspension points. It carries a higher risk than other forms of sexual bondage.
This glossary of BDSM terms defines terms commonly used in the BDSM community.
Dominance and submission is a set of behaviors, customs, and rituals involving the submission of one person to another in an erotic episode or lifestyle. It is a subset of BDSM. This form of sexual contact and pleasure has been shown to please a minority of people.
Tickle torture is the use of tickling to abuse, dominate, harass, humiliate, or interrogate an individual. While laughter is popularly thought of as a pleasure response, in tickle torture, the one being tickled may laugh whether or not they find the experience pleasant. In a tickling situation, laughter can indicate a panic reflex rather than a pleasure response, and the tickling may be a consensual activity or one that is forced, depending on the circumstances. In a consensual form, tickling may be part of a mutually fulfilling, physically intimate act between partners. However, tickle torture can cause real physical and mental distress in a victim, which is why it has been used as an interrogation method or to simply show dominance over another person. Usually tickling is done on feet and armpits after tying the person's ankles and wrists. The recipient is also often stripped to their underwear.
Erotic humiliation is consensual psychological humiliation performed in order to produce erotic excitement or sexual arousal. This can be for either the person(s) being humiliated and demeaned or the person(s) humiliating, or both. It is sometimes performed before spectators, including through pornography and webcam modeling. It may be part of BDSM and other sexual roleplay, or accompanied by the sexual stimulation of the genitals of one or both parties in the activity.
Sensation play, also known as sensual play or sensory play, is an act where senses are engaged in various ways to heighten erotic pleasure and induce sensuality. As an activity, it is meant to impart pleasurable and arousing sensations upon a partner, usually during an intimate interaction.
Predicament bondage is a form of bondage in which a person is restrained and forced to experience opposing sensory forces. The default position is typically intended to cause muscle fatigue, such as standing on tiptoe, which forces the subject to choose a more physically painful position. For example, they may let themselves lower their weight and stand while forcing a rope to pull and painfully stretch their genitals. Predicament bondage can also involve the use of a single position in which remaining still will not cause any discomfort for the subject, but moving their body will pull on ropes, weights or other devices meant to cause them pain, or refer to not allowing the subject knowledge of how to escape, even if escape is possible or making the process of escape undesirable, such as forcing them to expose themselves publicly. The subject may then be tickled, sexually stimulated, or otherwise enticed to move uncontrollably.
An interrogation scene is a form of BDSM roleplay in which the participants act out the parts of torturer and victim. As in real life torture chambers throughout the world over, the "torturer" uses threats, humiliation and physical pain to extract whatever information they believe the "victim" possesses. The game is over when the victim has broken and divulged the secret. The length and severity of the scene will vary according to the temperament of the players. Dedicated players attempt to replicate the atmosphere of a real torture session and, as in real life, the "victim" can expect to be stripped naked, tied up, mocked and abused.
In BDSM, Master/slave, M/s or sexual slavery is a relationship in which one individual serves another in a consensual authority-exchange structured relationship. Unlike Dominant/submissive structures found in BDSM in which love is often the core value, service and obedience are often the core values in Master/slave structures. The participants may be of any gender or sexual orientation. The relationship uses the term "slave" because of the association of the term with ownership rights of a master to their slave's body, as property or chattel. While male "masters" will usually be referred to as "Master", whether or not female Masters are referred to as "Master" or "Mistress" may depend upon whether they identify as following the leather subculture or BDSM path, or simply preference.
Breast torture is a BDSM activity in which sexual stimulation is provided through the intentional application of physical pain or constriction to the breasts, areolae or nipples of a submissive. It is a popular activity among the kink community. The recipient of such activities may wish to receive them as a result of masochism or they may have a desire to please a dominant who is sadistic. Those involved may also be motivated by breast fetishism. Mild breast torture such as light impact play on the breasts is also occasionally used outside of the BDSM context to provide stimulation and pleasure during conventional sex. While breast and nipple torture is usually performed on women, most techniques or methods may also be used on men.
Facesitting, also known as queening or kinging, is a sexual practice with one partner sitting over the other's face, sometimes allowing for oral–genital or oral–anal contact. The sitting partner may face in either direction.