Reference

Ties That Bind

The SM/Leather/Fetish Erotic Style: Issues, Commentaries and Advice

Guy Baldwin · 1993

Gay Leather

Ties That Bind is a collection of essays in which Guy Baldwin explores the psychological, ethical, and cultural dimensions of Leather and consensual power exchange. Rather than serving as a technical manual, the book reflects on authority, submission, relationships, identity, responsibility, and community, offering one of the most influential philosophical perspectives in modern Leather literature.

The Ultimate Guide to Kink

BDSM, Role Play and the Erotic Edge

Tristan Taormino, Pat Califia, Midori, Lee Harrington, Race Bannon, Ignacio Rivera, Mollena Williams-Haas · 2012

Lifestyle BDSM

The Ultimate Guide to Kink is a comprehensive anthology that brings together leading educators, authors, and practitioners to explore the many dimensions of contemporary BDSM. Covering practical skills, ethical frameworks, psychological insights, role play, relationships, and community culture, the book offers one of the broadest introductions to consensual kink ever published.

The New Topping Book

Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy · 1994

Lifestyle BDSM

The New Topping Book presents topping as an ethical, creative, and deeply collaborative practice founded upon communication, empathy, consent, and responsibility. Rather than equating authority with control, Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy describe the Top as a skilled facilitator who creates experiences that are emotionally meaningful, physically safe, and mutually fulfilling.

The New Bottoming Book

Dossie Easton, Janet W. Hardy · 1998

Lifestyle BDSM

The New Bottoming Book redefines bottoming as an active, informed, and empowered role within consensual BDSM. Through humour, practical advice, psychological reflection, and community experience, Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy demonstrate that successful bottoming depends upon communication, self-knowledge, negotiation, consent, and personal responsibility rather than passive obedience.

The Master's Manual

A Handbook of Erotic Dominance

Jack Rinella · 1995

Leather

The Master's Manual explores the personal, ethical, and philosophical development required to become a Master within the Leather tradition. Through a series of reflective essays, Jack Rinella presents mastery as a lifelong process of education, self-discipline, leadership, and responsibility rather than a collection of BDSM techniques or positions of authority.

The Loving Dominant

John Warren · 1994

Lifestyle BDSM

The Loving Dominant presents a comprehensive introduction to consensual dominance founded upon responsibility, communication, trust, and mutual fulfilment. Rather than portraying dominance as control for its own sake, John Warren argues that authority within BDSM relationships is inseparable from ethical leadership, informed consent, emotional awareness, and the wellbeing of all participants.

The Leatherman's Protocol Handbook

A Handbook on "Old Guard" Rituals, Traditions and Protocols

John D. Weal · 2010

Old Guard

A documentary reference on Old Guard Leather traditions, rituals, ceremonies, etiquette, and protocol as experienced and preserved by John D. Weal. Rather than presenting a universal code of conduct, the book records one influential interpretation of twentieth-century American Leather culture and its ceremonial practices.

The Forked Tongue

A Handbook for Treating People Badly (Revisited)

Flagg · 2004

Leather

A distinctive exploration of psychological dominance within consensual power exchange, presenting authority as a carefully constructed system of structure, communication, conditioning, and symbolic influence rather than merely physical control. Through essays, lectures, and educational writings, Flagg examines the mental and emotional dimensions of dominance as a deliberate and disciplined practice.

The Compleat Slave

Creating and Living an Erotic Dominant/submissive Lifestyle

Jack Rinella · 2002

M/s

A comprehensive exploration of consensual Master/slave relationships, examining the psychological, ethical, emotional, and practical dimensions of erotic servitude through the perspective of long-term lifestyle practice.

SlaveCraft

Roadmaps for Consensual Erotic Servitude: Principles, Skills, and Tools

a grateful slave, Guy Baldwin · 1997

Old Guard

A reflective exploration of consensual Master/slave relationships that examines erotic servitude as a psychological, emotional, and ethical identity rather than a system of training techniques. Through a series of essays, personal reflections, and commentary, the authors explore the principles of obedience, identity, transparency, humility, fear, and responsibility within long-term power exchange relationships.

Health Care Without Shame

A Handbook for the Sexually Diverse and Their Caregivers

Charles Moser · 1999

General BDSM

A practical and evidence-informed handbook that promotes competent, respectful, and non-judgmental healthcare for sexually diverse individuals while helping healthcare professionals better understand the needs of patients whose identities, relationships, or practices fall outside conventional sexual norms.

Protocols

A Variety of Views

Robert J. Rubel, PhD, L.C. Morgynn, Master Tallen, Sir Stephen, Sergeant Major, Eric Pride · 2008

M/s

An edited collection of essays examining the role of protocols within Master/slave and Leather relationships from multiple perspectives. Rather than prescribing a single model, the volume explores how different households, traditions, and practitioners develop protocols to express authority, service, identity, communication, and community values.

Our Lives, Our History

Consensual Master/slave Relationships from Ancient Times to the 21st Century

Peter Tupper, Raven Kaldera, Jack Rinella, Guy Baldwin, Thom Magister, Master Len Griffith, Jack Fritscher · 2016

Multiple traditions

Our Lives, Our History: Consensual Master/slave Relationships from Ancient Times to the 21st Century is a historical anthology edited by Peter Tupper that traces the development of consensual Master/slave relationships across cultures, historical periods, and modern Leather communities. Combining newly commissioned essays with carefully selected historical reprints, the volume documents the evolution of Master/slave relationships from ancient models of authority and servitude to the emergence of contemporary M/s organisations, educational institutions, contests, and communities. Rather than serving as a practical training manual, the anthology preserves the historical memory of the consensual Master/slave lifestyle, examining both its intellectual origins and its organisational development within the modern Leather community.

Coming to Power

Writings and Graphics on Lesbian S/M

Pat Califia, Gayle S. Rubin, Katherine Davis, Dorothy Allison, Susan Leigh Star, Susan Farr · 1981

Lesbian Leather

Coming to Power is one of the foundational documents of the lesbian Leather and BDSM movement. Published collectively by members of SAMOIS, the first lesbian S/M organization, the anthology combines essays, fiction, political reflections, historical documents, educational articles, artwork, and personal testimonies to document the emergence of a consensual lesbian S/M culture during the late twentieth century. More than an anthology, it is a historical record of a community defining itself in its own voice.

A Defense of Masochism

Anita Phillips · 1998

Educational BDSM

A Defense of Masochism challenges the traditional view of masochism as pathology, arguing instead that it represents a meaningful way of understanding desire, identity, vulnerability, and human relationships. Drawing on philosophy, psychoanalysis, literature, and cultural history, Anita Phillips offers one of the most influential contemporary reappraisals of masochism within both academic and BDSM discourse.

On the Safe Edge

A Manual for SM Play

Trevor Jacques · 1993

General BDSM

On the Safe Edge is one of the foundational reference works of modern BDSM safety literature. Rather than presenting isolated techniques, Trevor Jacques approaches SM as a discipline requiring knowledge, preparation, communication, and personal responsibility, combining practical instruction with medical, psychological, and social information. Designed for both newcomers and experienced practitioners, the book covers a remarkably broad range of topics, from negotiation and consent to anatomy, equipment, risk management, first aid, and scene planning. Its emphasis on informed, consensual practice made it one of the defining educational works of the early 1990s. Although some medical information reflects the period in which it was written, its systematic approach to safer play continues to make it an important historical and educational reference within the BDSM literature.

Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns

The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism

Philip Miller, Molly Devon · 1995

Lifestyle BDSM

Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns is widely regarded as one of the foundational introductory works of modern BDSM literature. Written with equal measures of practical instruction, humour, and personal experience, it presents BDSM not as an abstract theory but as a lived practice grounded in communication, consent, and mutual enjoyment. Rather than focusing exclusively on techniques, the authors examine the relationships, psychology, ethics, and community that surround BDSM, making the work both an educational manual and a reflection of the Lifestyle as it existed during the 1990s. Its accessible style, breadth of subjects, and enduring educational value have made it one of the most frequently recommended introductory books within the BDSM community for more than three decades.

Different Loving

The World of Sexual Dominance and Submission

Gloria G. Brame, William D. Brame, Jon Jacobs · 1993

General BDSM

Originally published in 1993, Different Loving was among the first mainstream works to present BDSM as a diverse and consensual human experience rather than a psychological disorder or sensational curiosity. Combining interviews, historical research, and social analysis, it documents the lives, relationships, and practices of people involved in dominance and submission across a broad spectrum of the Lifestyle. Rather than functioning as a technical manual, the book serves as a documentary portrait of the BDSM community at the beginning of the 1990s, capturing both its diversity and its emerging public identity. Today it remains an important historical reference for understanding how modern BDSM entered public discourse and how many contemporary concepts of consent, identity, and community developed.

SM 101

A Realistic Introduction

Jay J. Wiseman · 1992

General BDSM

Originally published in the early 1990s, SM 101 became one of the first comprehensive introductory manuals to present BDSM as a consensual, structured and community-based practice rather than as pathology or sensationalism. Rather than focusing on fantasy, Jay Wiseman approaches BDSM through education, emphasizing communication, consent, negotiation, technical competence, and risk awareness before discussing practical skills. For more than three decades, the work has remained one of the principal entry points into modern BDSM literature and continues to influence educational standards throughout the international community.