text: Pain delivered and/or received for sexual gratification is one of the cornerstones of BDSM. While BDSM is as old as culture itself, the modern version is practiced throughout the West by participants from almost every walk of life. It is as commonplace as an orgy in ancient Rome.
  BDSM came from the smaller terms, BD and SM, which became popular in the 1960s in the United States. These abbreviations were often found in classified ads for sex or dating. However, it wasn’t until the Internet came along that “BD” and “SM” were married as one unit to form the subgroup and lifestyle we know today as BDSM.
  Many people identify with this part of their personality. Their roles are part of their lives, and they may refer to BDSM as a “lifestyle.” Around 2000, BDSM became a broad term that covers all sorts of play fetishes (including things that don’t relate to B and D or S and M) like leather or latex fetishes, bubble popping, and more.