A third achievement through BDSM performance is the consensual exchange of power and the ability to assume a power role that may be the opposite of the one in which one has been constrained in his daily life. life. It is not only powerful for those who participate, but it can also be emotional for those who witness it. I believe this is the main difference between those who practice BDSM privately and those who are willing to perform more publicly, even if it remains hidden from mainstream mainstream culture. This is illustrated in a quote from Panther, in Techniques of Pleasure: For many people, BDSM is not about whips and chains, it's about control, it's about the exchange of power. I think there are a lot of people who can relate to the power exchange: losing control, who holds the remote, who holds the checkbook, who chooses the radio station, who drives, who decides where we let's eat, where we go on vacation. It's like the classic joke: "we know who wears the pants in this family" or "she knows her place." (Weiss 143) These performances go against domination and oppression. Practitioners negotiate terms, establish safewords, and whoever plays the role of submissive has the ability to establish safewords and end a situation at any time. Although the BDSM subculture perpetuates some aspects of the dominant dominant hegemonic culture, such as being made up of mostly white people and mostly men filling dominant roles, the choice of whether or not to participate in shows, being witness or not, makes it transgressive. . Perhaps most interestingly, some BDSM practitioners reenact traumatic early life events as a way to regain control of what happened to... middle of paper ...... a subculture doesn't hurt anyone, and making people happy or helping yourself or others in some way is clearly effective whether or not the goal is to resist. Works Cited Brophy, James M. "Mirth and Subversion: Carnival in Cologne." History today July 1, 1997: n. page. Print.DeChaine, Robert. “Mapping Subversion: Queercore Music’s playful discourse of resistance.” » Popular music and society (1997): 7-37. Web. Haenfler, Ross. Goths, Gamers and Grrrls: deviance and youth subcultures. New York: Oxford UP, 2010. Print. Pitts-Taylor, Victoria. In the Flesh: The Cultural Politics of Body Modification. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. PDF. Scott, James C. Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990. Print. Weiss, Margot Danielle. Techniques of pleasure: BDSM and the circuits of sexuality. Durham: Duke UP, 2011. Print.