bottom

In kink, the bottom is the person receiving a thing or act. This is the opposite of a Top, the person doing the thing or action to someone else. Both terms refer more to the active role, not the mental role. For example, a slave could be physically performing needle play on their Master, at the Master's command. Mentally the Master is in control. The Master is still the Dominant and the slave is still the submissive in the relationship, regardless of which one is bottoming during a scene or playtime. Bottom is an umbrella term that covers many types of kinky activities. Sometimes, prefixes are used to describe what level of stimulation and/or types of activity a bottom prefers. For example, a heavy impact bottom is someone who prefers receiving intense stimulation during impact play, often in the form of high levels of pain. People often confuse "bottom" with "submissive" but the two are not equivalent. A bottom simply takes on the receiving role in a scene. This may or may not involve any sort of hierarchy, submission, or surrender of agency. ### LGBTQ+ bottom role In the queer community the term bottom (gay culture) is also used to describe a person who prefers to be the receiver in sexual activities.