Sensation play

Sensation play is a form of BDSM play where the focus is on the manipulation of the sensory experience of the bottom or submissive by the top or dominant.

We can divide sensation play into two types:

• Activities which add or modify sensations
• Activities which diminish or remove sensations (sometimes known as sensory deprivation)

For convenience we will explore these in order of smell, taste, hearing, touch, and sight.

It's useful to note that four out of the five senses are focused around the head (smell, taste, hearing and sight). This means that a lot of effective sensation play can be done without going below the neck.

Symbolically sensation play can be very powerful because it compels the submissive or bottom to surrender to exactly and only the experiences which their partner either allows or denies them. Sensation play is often combined with some form of bondage or restraint to prevent the submissive from doing anything (such as removing a blindfold) which might allow them to control^[pmw] their experience themselves.

Adding or modifying sensations

Sense of smell

• Overwhelming the sense of smell with something like ammonia
• Use of perfumes and aromas
• Other scents, such as food odours, sweat, oil, ozone (caused by electric motors or sparks), etc.

Sense of taste

• Applying something to the tongue of a restrained bottom
• Something sweet
• Something sour
• Semen
• Unpleasant tastes, such as something bitter or sour (lemon juice)

Note that play involving giving food or drink to someone who is restrained (chains, rope, or cage), or denying food or drink to someone who is restrained is not sensation play.

Sense of hearing

• Loud music
• Mood music
• Regular beats or taps (e.g., metronome)
• Threatening or frightening sounds, such as loud crashes, or the sound of one object striking another

Sense of touch

Under touch, we can look at two different ways that the bottom experiences touch: what touches them, and what they themselves touch (e.g., with their hands or fingers).

• Controlling touch applied to the bottom
  • Wartenberg wheel
  • The use of feathers
  • Tickling (see also torture)
  • Soft cloth (e.g., silk)
  • Course material (e.g., sandpaper, hessian, canvas) (see abrasion)
  • The back of a knife blade
  • Use of temperature - touching the submissive with something hot or something cold (see also temperature play^[pmw]) or both. See also wax play^[pmw].
  • Use of electric current or sparks (see electro play^[pmw])
  • Blowing hot or cold air on the submissive or bottom. Using an electric fan or hair-dryer
• Controlling what the bottom is able to feel
  • Increasing the sensitivity of the skin. This can be a consequence of attention applied as part of other play. For example, nipple can become particularly sensitive after nipple torture or pinching.

Sense of sight

• Mood lighting, adding bright or coloured lights
• Flashing lights
• Making the bottom wear distorting glasses

Sensory deprivation

Sense of smell

• Nose plugs
• Cotton wool
• Hood
• Gas mask or similar

Sense of taste

• Feeding the person with tasteless food
• Giving the person only water to drink
• Numbing agents (such as local anaesthetic), or application of ice to the tongue

Sense of hearing

• Ear plugs
• Hood
• Ear muffs

Sense of touch

• Thick gloves or mittens
• Numbing agents (such as local anaesthetic), or application of ice to the skin
• Keeping the room at body temperature, reducing air movement

Sense of sight

• Using a blindfold
• Using a hood
• Turning the lights off or turning the lights down
• Spectacles with tinted or out-of-focus lenses

Combinations

Sensation play rarely involves just one of the above.

In sensory deprivation scenes, the top may try to remove or minimise all five senses at the same time.

In other sensation play, the top may have an array of things available to create a veritable orchestra of sensation for the bottom. They may combine hot and cold (e.g., candles and ice), smooth and rough (e.g., silk cloth and sandpaper), and so on.

Flogging is frequently done in such a way to be sensation play. Rather than hitting hard with the flogger, the dominant may use the tails of the flogger to stroke the skin of the submissive, or may hit so softly that the tails of the flogger merely fall on the skin of the submissive and caress it.

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Sensation play refers to enjoying spanking, corporal punishment, or other aspects of BDSM solely for the physical sensations with little or no psychological dimension.

Definition

When a flogging or spanking is given as a form of sensation play, there is no dominance and submission, it is not labeled a punishment and there is no roleplayed context—the partners just give, and receive, the flogging or spanking as a physical act. Sensation play typically starts light, increasing the intensity very gradually. This allows the spankee to relax into the sensation and "take it" well. Sexual arousal is not necessarily always an aim, but if it occurs, it is generally seen as a sign of doing it right.

Many people engage in spanking as a form of sensation play at some times and, at other times, in a different context, e.g. domination and submission.

Wipipedia defines sensation play as a 'carefully controlled stimulus to the human body so that it reacts as if it were actually hurt. This releases pleasurable endorphins, creating a sensation somewhat like runner's high or the afterglow of orgasm, sometimes called "flying". The sensation is related to but distinct from pain. Some writers use the term "body stress".'

Methods

Sensation play can involve whipping and spanking in any form, with a wide range of implements and in any of dozens positions. It can also involve bondage (the sensation of rope, cling wrap^[saw], and of being bound or wrapped up can be a sensual and arousing experience), biting, scratching, wax play, ice cubes, clothes pins^[sm-201], etc.

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Erotic sensation play is a class of activities meant to impart physical sensations upon a partner, as opposed to mental forms of erotic play such as power exchange or sexual role playing.

Sensation play can be sensual, where the sensations are generally pleasing and light. Many couples that would not consider themselves active in BDSM are familiar with this kind of play: the use of silk scarves, feathers, ice, massage oils, and other similar implements.

Sensation play in BDSM can also involve sadomasochistic play, involving the application of carefully controlled stimuli to the human body so that it reacts as if it were actually hurt. While this can involve the infliction of actual pain, it is usually done in order to release pleasurable endorphins, creating a sensation somewhat like runner's high or the afterglow of orgasm, sometimes called "flying" or "body stress".

Examples of Sensation Play

In BDSM play, the Top (or Dominant) introduces and controls the sensation to the Bottom (or Submissive).

• Two partners exploring the sensations of kissing or other intimacy while blindfolded
• Unusual textures such as feathers, silk, or leather
• Erotic tickling
• Sensory deprivation such as mummification
• Contact with intense temperatures, such as ice or hot wax
• Biting and clawing
• Whips, flogging, suspension bondage and other BDSM related activities.
• Clamping parts of the body with clothes pins^[sm-201], forceps, nipple clamps or similar devices.
• Other implements that may not be normally be used in this fashion, such as an electric toothbrush. These items are often referred to as pervertibles^[wipi] within the BDSM community.

The sensation can come from just about anywhere, provided that the implement and its use fall within the negotiated terms of the interaction or relationship. Sensation play is limited only by one's own imagination and a lot of variation can occur from one play scene to the next. For example, chains could be left in a freezer for some time and then laid across the body of a bottom or submissive. Or the chain could just be brought out of a bag and run across the body or perhaps just rattled loudly to invoke a response.

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On a physical level, BDSM "sensation play" involves applying carefully controlled stimulus to the human body so that it reacts as if it were actually hurt. This releases pleasurable endorphins, creating a sensation somewhat like runner's high or the afterglow of orgasm, sometimes called "flying". The sensation is related to but distinct from pain. Some writers use the term "body stress".

Note that safety and consent are of paramount importance: all activities should be safe, sane and consensual.

In BDSM play, the top applies sensation to the bottom by spanking, slapping, pinching, stroking or scratching with fingernails, or using implements like straps, whips, paddles, canes, knives, hot wax, ice, clothes pins^[sm-201], bamboo skewers, etc. The sensation of being bound with rope, chains, straps, cling wrap^[saw], handcuffs or other materials can also be part of the experience.

BDSM players can be highly inventive in employing their tools in play, sometimes using ordinary household items as sex toys, known as "pervertibles"^[wipi].

In BDSM, the stimulus is always applied in a controlled fashion, with an eye to safety. E.g. a top should know which areas of a bottom's body to avoid while whipping.

BDSM play can be compared to music, with each sensation like a note. Different sensations are combined in different ways to produce the total experience.

Creating a pleasurable BDSM experience has a lot to do with a competent top and the bottom being in the right state of mind. Trust and sexual arousal help a person prepare for the intense sensation.

References

This article based on an article Sensation play (29 August 2015) from the free Encyklopedia Peter Masters Wiki. The Peter Masters Wiki article is published under © 2008 - 2015, Peter Masters (May not be reproduced in any electronic or physical form without the express permission of the author). In Peter Masters Wiki is a List of Authors available those who worked on the text before being incorporated in WikiMANNia.

This article based on an article Sensation play (17 June 2018) from the free Encyklopedia Spanking Art Wiki. The Spanking Art Wiki article is published under GNU-License for free Documentation. In Spanking Art Wiki is a List of Authors available those who worked on the text before being incorporated in WikiMANNia.

This article based on an article Sensation play (17 November 2021) from the free Encyklopedia SM-201. The SM-201 article is published under GNU-License for free Documentation. In SM-201 is a List of Authors available those who worked on the text before being incorporated in WikiMANNia.

This article based on an article Sensation play (12 March 2014) from the free Encyklopedia Wipipedia. The Wipipedia article is published under GNU-License for free Documentation. In Wipipedia is a List of Authors available those who worked on the text before being incorporated in WikiMANNia.