Femdom glossary: BDSM and cam terms in plain English

The tags on a mistress's profile can read like code. These are the terms you'll meet most in femdom rooms and on cam sites, each in a sentence or two. Where a term has its own page here, the definition links to it.

Aftercare: The care that follows an intense scene: reassurance, water, warmth, a return to normal. On cam you often have to give it to yourself, which the limits guide covers.
BDSM: An umbrella term built from three pairs: bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism. Femdom is the corner of it where the woman leads.
Bondage: Restraint with rope, cuffs, tape or anything else. On cam it's either hers, on display, or yours, on her instructions. See bondage cams for the safety rules.
Boot worship: Devotion focused on her boots: praising them, looking at them, being made to wait for them. A close cousin of foot worship.
Brat: A submissive who resists on purpose, playfully, so the dominant has something to tame. Some mistresses enjoy brats. Many don't, so read her profile first.
Cam2cam: A private-show extra that lets the performer see you through your own webcam. Optional, and usually charged on top of her rate.
CBT: Pain play aimed at the male genitals. An intense practice and a hard limit for many; never something to improvise on your own from a stranger's instructions.
CFNM: "Clothed female, naked male": a scenario built on the imbalance of one person dressed and in control, the other exposed.
Chastity: Wearing a locking device that prevents touching or arousal, with someone else holding the key. On cam, the mistress becomes the keyholder in name and decides when the device comes off.
Collar: A symbol of ownership or commitment in a dominant and submissive relationship. On cam it's a symbol only; never fasten anything tight around your neck.
Credits: LiveJasmin's currency, bought in advance and spent on private time, extras and tips. Every rate on this site is in credits per minute.
Cuckolding: A fantasy in which the submissive's partner prefers someone else, and he is made to know it. On cam it's almost always storytelling and role play.
Domme: A dominant woman. A coined pseudo-French feminine of "dom", common in online kink communities.
Dominatrix: A woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM, often professionally. The full story is in what a dominatrix actually is.
Drop: The low mood that can follow an intense scene, sometimes hours later. Normal, temporary, and best met with rest and something ordinary.
Edging: Being brought close to orgasm and stopped, over and over. The engine of most tease and denial sessions.
Femdom: Short for female domination: the whole genre of BDSM in which a woman is dominant.
Findom: Financial domination, where giving money or gifts is the kink. Keep it inside a budget and inside the site; findom cams explains how.
Foot worship: Attention, praise and devotion focused on her feet, shoes or nylons. The most widely offered style among dominant performers. See foot worship cams.
Free chat: The public room on LiveJasmin: free to watch and the place to say hello before booking a private.
Goddess worship: A style where she is to be adored rather than simply obeyed. Praise, gifts and devotion matter more than orders.
Hard limit: Something that will not happen, full stop. Agreed before a session and never negotiated during one.
Humiliation: Domination through embarrassment, usually verbal: mockery, laughter, belittling. Needs clear limits first. See humiliation cams.
JOI: Jerk-off instruction: she sets the pace, rules and ending, and you follow. See JOI cams.
Keyholder: The person who holds the key to a chastity device, and with it the decision about when it comes off.
Lifestyle domme: A woman who practises dominance in her private relationships rather than for pay.
Members chat: A room status on LiveJasmin where the performer's chat is open to members rather than guests. Shown as "Members" on our cards.
Mistress: The usual form of address for a dominant woman, and the safe default if you don't know her preference.
Orgasm control: Her deciding if and when you finish. Another name for tease and denial, and closely linked to edging and chastity.
Paypig: A findom term for a submissive who pays as an act of devotion. Some wear the name proudly; it's still worth keeping a budget.
Pegging: A woman using a strap-on with a male partner. On cam it's usually display, role play or instruction. See strap-on mistress cams.
Private show: A one-to-one session, billed by the minute at the performer's own rate. Where almost every real session happens.
Pro-domme: A professional dominatrix, paid for sessions. Professionals typically don't have sex with clients or let them touch them.
RACK: Risk-aware consensual kink: a motto that stresses understanding and owning the risks of what you choose.
Role play: A scene built around characters, such as teacher and student (both adults), nurse and patient, interrogator and spy.
Safeword: A word or signal that stops a scene immediately. "Red" is the common choice. On cam, agree a typed version and a gesture as well.
Sissy training: Feminisation of a male submissive through clothing, make-up or behaviour, as humiliation, affirmation or both.
Soft limit: Something you might try, slowly or under certain conditions. A maybe rather than a never.
SPH: Small penis humiliation: verbal belittling of size. One of the most commonly listed styles among dominant performers.
SSC: Safe, sane and consensual: a motto adopted by many BDSM practitioners and groups since the 1980s.
Submissive: The person who gives up control in a scene. Usually shortened to sub.
Switch: Someone who enjoys both the dominant and the submissive role, depending on partner or mood.
Tease and denial: Arousal without permission to finish, sometimes for a whole session. See orgasm control.
Tribute: A gift or tip given as an act of respect or submission, with nothing expected in return.
VIP show: A scheduled group show on LiveJasmin. You share the room with other viewers, usually for less than a private costs.

Missing a term you've seen on a profile? Ask her. Most mistresses are happy to explain their own specialities, and a sub who asks is better than one who guesses. Then read your first session to put the vocabulary to use.