HAIR BONDAGE:
a bondage technique in which a person's hair is braided or tied to a rope and then bound, so that moving the head causes pain to the scalp.

See related KAMI.





HANDCUFFS:
a pair of lockable, linked metal rings for securing a person's wrists together. They are the most common restraint device used by law enforcement or militia. Unlike shackles, handcuffs are narrow with sharp edges and can be painful in certain BDSM play situations. It is recommended to use only standard police-issue handcuffs for BDSM play because they feature a two-part locking system: a standard universal handcuff key unlocks them easily, and the back of the key engages the double-lock mechanism, which prevents the cuffs from tightening on the wrist.





HANDBALLING:
a term for fisting that usually refers to fisting a male.

See FISTING.



HANKY CODE:
a system for signaling preferences for specific BDSM or sexual activities by wearing a colored handkerchief, usually in a back pants pocket. Specific colors, along with whether the handkerchief is worn on the left or the right side, represent particular activities and roles. This practice is primarily used in the gay leather and old leather communities.

For a full list of hanky codes, CLICK HERE.





HARD DOCKING:   see DRY DOCKING.



HARD DOMINANCE:
a style of dominance characterized by a colder, more distant, humiliating, and demanding approach to physical or mental BDSM play. Hard dominance can also refer to a dominant asserting dominance through harsh physical play or punishments. This style is often associated with master/slave and sadism play. It is the antonym of soft dominance.

See related SOFT DOMINANCE.



HARD LIMIT:
a boundary that a submissive considers non-negotiable and strictly off-limits to a dominant. It is an act or behavior specified in advance that a dominant must not, under any circumstances, demand of or engage in with the submissive.



HAREM (POLY-HAREM):
a group of submissives serving one or more dominants in a polyamorous arrangement.



HARNESS GAG:
a gag, similar to a ball gag, held securely in place by a series of interconnected straps designed to fit around the head.





HAZEL ROD:
a particularly painful type of birch rod, typically consisting of a bundle of four to five hazel twigs.

See BIRCH ROD.





HEADSPACE:
mental preparation for any BDSM activity. The time before a play session or warm-up when a submissive can relax enough to prepare for forthcoming sensations. The term also refers to the "right" mood for BDSM play or receiving impact play.



HEAVY PLAY:
a term for intense play that is considered physically strenuous but stops shy of edgeplay. Some people erroneously use the term to mean edgeplay.



HEDONISM:
the pursuit of sensual, self-indulgent pleasures. The ethical ideology that seeking pleasure is the most important aspect of all life on earth.



HEDONIST:
a pleasure-seeker who engages in hedonism.

See related HEDONISM.



HISHI KARADA:   see KARADA.



HITACHI MAGIC WAND:
a common brand-name vibrator, considered very powerful and usually equipped with a cord that plugs directly into an electrical outlet, used to stimulate a female’s clitoris or a male’s testicles, often in BDSM play. Like the word "Kleenex," the brand name Hitachi is now frequently used as a proprietary eponym to describe any magic wand vibrator.





HIGH PROTOCOL DINNER / PARTY:
a formal event, usually a dinner party or play party, with a very strict set of rules and protocols that all attendees must adhere to. These events highlight the service dynamic between a dominant and a submissive, in which a submissive serves either their dominant or a particular "house," performing a set of ritualistic tasks established prior to the event. The code of procedure or behavior is specified so that all submissives complete their tasks as a group.



HOBBLE BELT:
a belt that binds the legs closely together, causing the wearer to have difficulty walking.





HOBBLE SKIRT:
a very tight skirt that ends below the knees, limiting the wearer's leg mobility and forcing a hobbling gait. Originating around 1910 from Asian influences on Western fashion, modern fetish versions are often made of leather, PVC, or latex.





HOBBLE STOCK:
any device designed to restrain a person by the genitals, causing the wearer to have extreme difficulty walking. Typically constructed as a small wooden stock, it locks around a male's testicles so that the width of the wood between the thighs restricts movement. A "humbler" is a popular type of hobble stock.

See HUMBLER.



HOG SLAPPER:
a strap meant for striking, made of thick, heavy leather or rubber, sometimes covered in gauze, canvas, or burlap. In recent years, the term has been used loosely by adult toy retailers to describe various implements, as the definition of a slapper varies. Most commonly, a hog slapper refers to a crop with a wide leather slapper at the tip.

See SLAPPER.





HOG TIE:
a bondage technique in which a person's wrists and ankles are bound together, usually behind the back while lying face down. A variation involves binding all four limbs diagonally, connecting the right wrist to the left ankle and the left wrist to the right ankle.





HOGTIE:
spelled as one word; it refers to any device designed to perform a hog tie.





HONOR BONDAGE:
a type of bondage that relies on psychological constraint rather than physical restraints. Instead of using ropes or bindings, the submissive holds a position through sheer force of will. Often, the submissive is bound by the fear of punishment or simply by the honor of serving.



HOOD:
any hood designed to fit over the head, covering the face partly or completely.





HOOK SUSPENSION:   see BODY SUSPENSION.



HORSE (SPANKING HORSE):
bondage furniture consisting of a plank supported by four legs, similar to a sawhorse, over which a person is bent to make them accessible for flagellation. Many spanking horses today feature side platforms or shelves to support the submissive's knees while in a crawling position over the frame.





HORSEHAIR WHIP / FLOGGER:
a whip or flogger with lashes made from a horse's mane or tail. It is fashioned after the African fly whisk, which is often made of horse or zebra hair and historically used by African nobility.





HOTWIFE:
the female participant in a sexual scenario where her male partner encourages or consents to her engaging with other males. The term often refers specifically to a married woman whose husband shares her sexually with other men.

See related STAG, BULL, CUCK, and CUCKOLDRY.



HOUSE (BDSM HOUSE):
refers to the name, or a prefix to a name, of a BDSM family, usually consisting of one dominant and two or more submissives. For example: the House of Master Aryn.

See related FAMILY.



HOUSE SLAVE:
a submissive who acts much like a housewife but is considered the property of the dominant. The term usually refers to a submissive whose duties include household chores, often performed while nude. They are frequently referred to as a house boy or house girl. Many submissives who identify as house slaves report a sense of fulfillment and purpose, feeling sexually charged by performing these household duties.





HUCOW:
meaning human cow, a form of animal role-play in which a female takes on the role of a cow, with a focus on milking her breasts using breastfeeding pumps or udder machines (electric milking machines intended for cows). It is considered a form of nipple torture. This is not to be confused with the term "milking," which usually refers to male prostate stimulation.

See unrelated MILKING.





HUMBLER:
a hobble stock implement consisting of a testicle cuff that clamps around the base of the scrotum, mounted in the center of a bar that passes behind the thighs at the base of the buttocks. This forces the wearer to keep his legs bent, as attempting to straighten them pulls on the device and causes intense discomfort to the testicles.





HUMILIATION PLAY (EROTIC HUMILATION PLAY):
sexual arousal derived from being humiliated, or from activities that impose humiliation on another. There are many forms of humiliation play, such as verbal belittlement, insults, name-calling, loss of empowerment, forced exhibitionism, and forced sexual acts that the submissive views as embarrassing or shameful. Some forms of erotic humiliation play use humiliation to guide a person into a state of mind where they feel as though they are surrendering completely to the moment or to the dominant. It is an intense psychological form of play that can easily cross into edgeplay if the dominant is not attentive and careful. Severe humiliation can cause lasting psychological injury to the submissive. Genuine attacks on a person's self-esteem or manipulations designed to break their spirit constitute abuse.



HUMILIATRIX:
a term originating in the mid-1800s for a female dominant skilled in humiliation play. The term is seldom used today, largely because play between a female dominant or professional dominatrix and a male submissive typically incorporates some degree of humiliation play, and the dominant is assumed to possess those skills. Consequently, the term "dominatrix" is used far more frequently than humiliatrix.

See DOMINATRIX.



HUMOR PLAY:
any sort of play in which humor is an integral component or result, such as tickling a submissive until they laugh out loud.








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