All 25 BDSM test roles explained

Your BDSM test result lists up to 25 roles. Most come in complementary pairs, one who gives and one who receives. Here’s what each means, in plain language. Every role below assumes adults, informed consent, and the freedom to stop.

Jump to: Power exchange · Sensation · Restraint · Playful dynamics · Caretaking & roleplay · Relationship style & curiosity

Power exchange

Dominant

Enjoys leading, setting the pace, and making decisions, along with the responsibility that comes with that. Dominance is about who decides, not about any specific activity.

Submissive

Enjoys following an agreed lead and handing over some decisions to a trusted partner. Submission is chosen, and it can be paused or withdrawn at any time.

Switch

Enjoys both leading and following, with different partners or at different times. A mixed result is very common.

Master/Mistress

A more structured, often ongoing form of dominance with negotiated rules and protocols. The focus is on creating stability and taking care of the partner.

Slave

A more structured, often ongoing form of submission centered on service and protocol. The role’s limits and exceptions are still negotiated.

Sensation

Sadist

Enjoys giving a consenting partner chosen, negotiated intensity, always within agreed limits and followed by aftercare.

Masochist

Enjoys receiving chosen intensity. This is about finding meaning or enjoyment in certain sensations, not about having a high pain tolerance.

Degrader

Enjoys negotiated verbal or psychological play in which a partner agrees to be teased or “put in their place”. This is scene-only and never carries into everyday treatment.

Degradee

Enjoys receiving that kind of negotiated play. Clear limits and aftercare matter especially here.

Restraint

Rigger

Enjoys tying or restraining a partner, often with rope. For many people it’s an art form, a meditation, or a trust exercise, and it doesn’t have to be sexual. Learn safety from experienced teachers before you start.

Rope bunny

Enjoys being tied or restrained by someone they trust. Many describe the feeling as calming, focused, or freeing.

Playful dynamics

Brat

A playful submissive who teases, pushes back, or “misbehaves” as part of an agreed game.

Brat tamer

A dominant who enjoys a brat’s playfulness and responds with good-humored structure rather than taking offense.

Primal (Hunter)

Enjoys instinctive, physical play built around chasing or “catching” a willing partner, with agreed boundaries and signals.

Primal (Prey)

Enjoys being pursued or caught in that kind of play and letting instinct take over.

Caretaking & roleplay

Daddy/Mommy

A caretaking, guiding style of leadership that is warm and affectionate but still steady and firm. (The term is unrelated to parenthood.)

Little

Enjoys being cared for, comforted, and guided, often with a playful, carefree headspace. This is always adult roleplay between consenting adults.

Ageplayer

Enjoys roleplay in which an adult takes on a different age-coded role or headspace, between consenting adults only.

Owner

Takes responsibility for a “pet” in pet play. The dynamic can be completely nonsexual.

Pet

Enjoys being treated as a pet, such as a puppy or kitten, through play, names, and care. It’s often nonsexual and very popular with ace kinksters.

Relationship style & curiosity

Exhibitionist

Enjoys being seen by people who have consented to watch. Consent from everyone present is essential.

Voyeur

Enjoys watching people who know and agree to be watched.

Non-monogamist

Doesn’t see intimacy as limited to one partner. This includes open relationships, polyamory, and other agreed structures.

Experimentalist

Curious and open-minded, and wants to try things before forming an opinion.

Vanilla

Prefers familiar intimacy and relationship styles, and often values emotional closeness most. Many asexual test-takers score high here, and that’s completely fine.

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Not sure how to read your percentages? See BDSM test results explained. New to all this? Start with what a BDSM test is.