What do you think of when you hear the words primal and sex? Do you get hot? At PinkCherry, we’re here to help you explore your wild side, break down what primal BDSM is, and show you how you and your partner can use primal play with BDSM gear to get kinky when the mood strikes.
Ready to find out how you can incorporate that animalistic side of you safely into your bedroom roleplay? Let’s jump right into our primal nature!
What Does Primal Play Mean?
Essentially, primal play means that people tap into their baser instincts and behave like animals or primitive humans. The primal BDSM meaning often involves a lot of examples of grunting, non-verbal communication, rougher movements, and more forcible sex. Keep in mind that a primal play kink isn’t the same thing as a rape fantasy; rough sex doesn’t equal sex without consent even if it’s just pretending.
Why Do People Like Primal BDSM?
Primal play is a means for people to let go of their inhibitions and rely entirely on their senses and instincts. For many people, this can also be achieved through subspace and being a submissive, but primal play isn’t just for submissives. Dominants are often thought of as completely in control, and they still can be, but control of a scene is different from the control of self.
Stronger Bonds Through Actions
People who engage in primal play may feel like they can develop stronger bonds because so much of their communication is through their actions, not words. They always say that actions speak louder, right? Well, that is especially true for people who prefer to let their animal instincts guide them.
The Thrill
There is a hedonistic pleasure in wrestling your partner down to the bed and taking what you want. Perhaps they can turn the tables and take what they want too! Some people engage in primal play where they don’t take on the role of an individual animal and instead just rejoice in their wild side. Others choose to behave like a specific animal. It all comes down to personal choice and comfort, as we address in the next section.
Primal vs. Non-Primal Partners
There are a wide variety of ways to act out primal play and to identify primal and non-primal partners. Plus, relationships don’t need to have both members be primal players either. For relationships with a single primal partner, the best scenario often involves the primal partner taking on the role of a specific animal that they can relate to well.
Horse (Pony Play)
Ponyplay refers to a partner who impersonates a horse. This might involve an approximation of whinnying or neighing to signify communication. Ponyplay can be as intensive or simple as you agree on. There is a lot of equipment like saddles, bridles, reins, and other similar things you can buy for a fancy pony, but with a little bit of BDSM rigger such as a rope and a gag, you could simulate reins and a bit for a lot cheaper.
Keep in mind that while the animalistic partner is often the submissive in a relationship, they don’t have to be. For example, if you are engaging in pony play and the dominant is the horse, the submissive will train them and groom them while keeping their pony looking beautiful and tending to their needs. However, if the dominant is the horse, they might take on the role of a wild horse tamer and the submissive is a stallion or mare who needs to be broken.
Dog (Puppy Play)
Puppy play usually encompasses more love and affection than pony play. Dogs are, after all, super affectionate and playful. A puppy player is likely a submissive who is eager to please and will sit still to be groomed and petted. This can easily translate into a sexual scenario leading your partner around on a leash and giving them treats when they are a good boy or girl.
Cat (Kitten Play)
Kittens are the closest to a brat BDSM kink that you can get in primal play. Cats are naturally aloof although most of them can still be affectionate when you reward them with treats and snuggles. When practicing pet play, there can be a lot of feeling and emotion involved, so make sure that everyone participating is safe and feeling good before diving deeper into your primal self!
The Ideal Match: Primal Dom and Sub
When two like-minded people find each other in primal play, the scenes often look very different than if a single primal person prefers to take a walk on the wild side. The previous section looked primarily at scenes where one person is a primal practitioner, but this section looks at how primal dominants and submissives come together.
A scene with two primal players might look like an animalistic mating ritual or a hunt, depending on personal preference and how rough you and your partner want to get. A mating ritual will obviously be a little gentler than a hunt and won’t simulate the ‘kill.’ Primal players like to rely on their senses like smell and hearing to track down their primal prey.
Primal Dominant
Among practitioners, primal dominants are usually known as hunters. Primal dominants often like to use their physical strength or their dexterous movements to subdue their prey. They might engage in mating rituals or hunts to take down the submissive and have their way with them, sometimes violently. Some dominants prefer to partner with other primal doms instead of with a submissive.
Primal Submissive
On the scene, primal submissives are usually known as prey. As prey, you are the one who ultimately instigates the hunt by signaling to your dom that you want to play and then taking off. Running and hiding is the foreplay for primal players, and submissives get off on trying to trick their hunter and make them lose the ‘scent.’
Eventually, the hunter corners their prey and demonstrates their superiority through posturing or fighting. The submissive decides when they are properly impressed and finally submits to their hunter.
How to Partake in Primal Play
Now, the fun part! Playtime! It’s totally normal to feel a bit silly at first, especially if primal play isn’t something you or your partner has ever tried before. We recommend taking it slow and incorporating things gradually as you both become more comfortable with your inner animal.
After all, there’s nothing worse than getting into a role and then seeing your partner muffling their snickers, right? They’re probably not laughing at you, just the situation. It can seem a little ridiculous to start growling or prowling around your bed on all fours. It might not be the sexy thing you want at first, but be patient.
Instead of going crazy and buying tons of equipment for this, ease slowly into primal play. Start having sex like normal and then slip some rougher aspects into it to test the waters and see if it’s something you and your partner want to continue exploring. Some examples of BDSM primal play include:
- Biting
- Scratching
- Growling
- Wrestling or using physical strength on their partner (within reason)
- Marking your territory by orgasming on your partner
- Having sex in another room of the house or trying a new position
- Having sex standing up or bending your partner over a counter
- Licking
As you and your partner start incorporating these behaviors into your sex life, it might not feel so out of place if you want to delve deeper and take on an animal persona. Just keep checking in with your partner(s) to make sure everyone’s on the same page at all times.
Safe Gesture
Generally, in BDSM, people rely on a safeword or a phrase that will signal to their partner that they have pushed beyond their limits and need to stop the scene. However, in primal play words aren’t verbalized, and some people get so deep into the headspace or use physical gags to muffle words, that you and your partner may need to create a gesture that means STOP. When participating in animal play or primal lifestyle in the BDSM scene, this is a must.
The gesture can be anything you want, but you both must acknowledge it, and then pay close attention during a scene. It’s easy to lose yourself in the role, especially in primal BDSM, but there is a large amount of trust involved and that trust must always be respected. No exceptions.
Clear the Area
Another important thing is to clear the area where your hunt or mating ritual will occur. Since primal play often doesn’t restrain itself to the bed, or the bedroom for that matter, you’ll want to ensure that there aren’t any sharp objects or small pieces of furniture that you might trip over in your enthusiasm.
A little pain can be sexy, but there is nothing sexy about stubbing your toe on an errant Lego or tripping over an end table and spraining your ankle. Simply clear your path before the hot and heavy, kinky fun begins!
Let’s Sum It Up!
Depending on the type of primal play that you’re into, there are plenty of pieces of specialized gear and equipment that can enhance the experience. With our wide selection of fetish gear and BDSM kits, you’ll never have to worry about not having the right gag to muffle any human words, and you can get back to concentrating on letting your wild side roam free and your primal instinct take over!
Related Content:
Sources:
https://www.kinkly.com/definition/12231/primal
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_roleplay
https://forbiddenwritings.blog/2018/02/09/im-a-primal-heres-what-that-means/