A mistress or dominatrix is a woman who takes the dominant role in sado-masochistic sexual practices. The male equivalent is a dominant or master.
The term mistress/dominatrix is most commonly used to describe professional dominant women who charge money to engage in fantasy play with submissive clients, but in reality most dominatrices are not professionals, but lifestyle dominants. A lifestyle dominant is a person who is assertive and in control of their relationships both inside and outside the bedroom.Women who engage in female domination recreationally are known as Dommes, Dominatrices, or simply Dominants, but are rarely referred to as Dominatrixes.A high percentage of dominatrixes are lifestyle dominants, but some simply play the mistress role because it is a high-paying profession.Note that a mistress does not necessarily dominate a male partner; a mistress may well have a female submissive.
The term domme is a coined pseudo-French female variation of the slang dom (short for dominant). There is confusion on its pronunciation, with some pronouncing it identically to dom and some pronouncing the final e as a second syllable, e.g. saying dom-MAY or DOM-may. It appears that more BDSM authorities prefer the first pronunciation (identical to dom), by analogy to one-syllable French-derived words like femme or blonde. A "pro-domme" is a female professional dominant. Most famous dominatrices (with a few notable exceptions) are professional dominants, since most other people's sex lives remain private.The stereotyped image of a mistress is of a woman wearing a rubber catsuit and thigh-length boots with high heels. Many professional dominatrices do indeed wear similar outfits for their work. However, for non-professional dominatrices, the question "what does a mistress wear" is best answered "whatever they like".
Notable dominatrices:
Fictional dominatrices:
A professional dominant or professional mistress is a sex worker who performs the dominant role in BDSM activities in exchange for money. Most professional dominants do not have sex in exchange for money, and do not regard themselves as prostitutes.A female dominant is known as a dominatrix, and the term is often used as a synonym for a female professional dominant. A pro domme is another term used for a female professional dominant.Most professional dominants are female, as most customers of professional dominants are submissive heterosexual males who choose to be dominated by a member of the opposite sex. However, there are also male professional dominants serving gay men, and both straight and gay women can also be customers of professional dominants.A professional dominant may either work by themselves (often with a maid or minder present) or in an establishment with other professional dominants and/or professional submissives. Professional dominants advertise in specialist contact magazines, as well as on the Web; there are a number of Web-based directories for professional dominants.
Services provided by professional dominants include:
Typically, the services of professional dominants are booked in advance, as with other professional services. Although it is hard to say just how large the pro-domination industry is, there are estimated to be a minimum of 300 operating in London alone at any one time, as evinced by cards advertising their services in phone boxes and websites that list them. In London, most pro-dominatrices with their own facilities for in-calls charge between £150 and £200 per hour, potentially making it a lucrative profession, although there are high overheads associated with the large amount of equipment and space needed by a well-equipped professional dominant.