this thread made me register. just wanted to say that reading the posts about past abuse made me very very sad. violence between adults is bad enough, but the fact that parents do such things to their children, or adults to children under their care, is terrible. if i met such an adult, i'd probably lose my temper, finally.

that said, i myself enjoy the submissive role without any notable prior experience of abuse. although i suppose my tastes are relatively mild (bondage, light pain, always in a sexual context / situation).

i also enjoy the dominant role, if there's a submissive to enjoy it. (and i only like to give what i like to receive, no more -- happens to be a rule of mine with regular gift-giving, go figure.)