Is lifting always domination?

[Hidddman]

Originally Posted by TheWolfe

I think your idea of what domination is has been defined by the cartoonish bad acting in fetish videos.

What I was getting at when I started this thread is probably more about submission. When a person is lifted, they give themself to the lifter. Isn't that submission? Therefore the lifter is dominating them by default, even if the lifter isn't trying to DOMINATE them in the stereotypical BDSM sort of way. Subtle little acts of domination and submission happen to us every day that have nothing to do with BDSM or fetishes. That was my line of thinking.

But also...

What if, in an actual BDSM context, a dominant orders a submissive to lift and carry them and the submissive obeys? That kinda flips the roles, doesn't it? Or does the dominant submit to the submissive by trusting that the submissive will in fact obey?

If you drop your preconceived notions of what "domination" and "submission" are and look at where the submission actually is occurring, it's pretty interesting to dissect the dynamic.

Some lifting positions are more inherently dominant and submissive. ponyrides are almost always seen as a more submissive lift because it involves getting to your knees while an overhead lift or an ots is usually more dominant because it's a proud display of strength and will be seen as emasculating the liftee.