Pet Play vs Primal Play
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Two very similarly named activities- what really differentiates them?
You’ve likely heard of at least one of these things- both pet play and primal play have been rising in popularity and prevalence both online and in real life. And while they are very closely tied, they in fact differ quite a bit.
PET PLAY
Pet play is a form of animal roleplay in which one or more participants adopt the persona of an animal, often within a BDSM context, by emulating its mannerisms, sounds, and behaviors, and often interacting with a Handler or Trainer who assumes a dominant, caretaking role. The activity can be non-sexual, focusing on escape, community, and identity exploration, or erotic, providing a path to relaxation, stress relief, or sexual gratification for participants, particularly those who enjoy power dynamics such as Dominance/submission. There is a focus in pet play on training, power dynamics, and headspace. The submissive getting into the headspace of a specific pet (most often a cat or dog) and giving up the control of their agency and humanity to relish in the feeling of powerlessness and obedience to their trainer/owner/dominant. Often in pet play, someone in the dynamic remains the human whilst the other(s) will take on the role of the pet.
PRIMAL PLAY
Primal play involves animalistic behavior, raw emotional expression, and intense physical and power dynamics between partners, often within a predator-prey dynamic. Primal play relies on both/all partners being in an animalistic headspace. Often involving running/chasing, wrestling, biting, growling, scratching, and other animalistic behaviours. Primal play is engaged with primarily to shed human expectation and schema around sex and power, and to relish the feeling of acting animalistic and uninhibited.
SIMILARITIES
Both forms of play allow people to explore and express their natural, instinctual behaviors in a consensual and safe environment. A core element of both practices is implicit trust between partners, as it is with a lot of BDSM, enabling them to be fully vulnerable and accept each other without judgment. Additionally, both pet play and primal play often involve non-verbal communication, relying on animal-like sounds and body language for parts of the fantasy. Finally, both are forms of role-play, with one or both partners adopting specific personas, such as a master and pet, or a predator and prey, to create a dynamic.
DIFFERENCES
Whereas in pet play there’s a focus on training and almost a dumbification, primal play relies on both/all partners being in that animalistic headspace. Primal play is about the eroticism of being wild, and pet play is about the eroticism of being domesticated.
SO…?
Pet play and primal play often overlap with each other, and it isn’t unlikely that someone into pet play might also be into primal play and vice versa. There was a trend online recently where a couple will stand in front of the camera with a long stretch of land behind them, one partner will start running away from the camera as fast as they can, and the other counts to five and then speeds after them, often impressively and easily overtaking them. The comments of these videos were, of course, full of people talking about how it was kind of a turn-on, and then an equal amount of other people telling that first group of people that they should get into primal play. Ultimately, both primal and pet play can be fun explorations of sexuality and eroticism, and might have a place on your roster! Don’t be afraid to try new things, and if it starts with running away from a camera for a TikTok, that’s as good a place as any to learn something new about yourself.