Category: (Sado)Masochism
Subcategory: Types

Scratching

## Scratching

Scratching involves using fingernails or specialized tools to drag across the skin with enough pressure to create sensation and sometimes temporary marks. The intensity ranges from light touches that barely indent the skin to deeper scratches that leave red welts or even break the surface slightly.

The sensation creates a distinctive combination of sharpness and pressure that differs from impact play. Scratching can be applied to most body areas, with common targets including the back, chest, thighs, and arms. The visual component of scratch marks—thin red lines following the path of the nails—provides immediate feedback on intensity. Basic scratching requires no special equipment beyond natural or artificial nails, making it accessible for spontaneous play.

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This is a description of an activity in the BDSM checklist (also known as a 'kink list'). Want to discover what (more) kinks you might have? Maybe share them with a partner? Start the checklist!

About the category (Sado)Masochism

Sadomasochism involves the consensual exchange of sensation that many would find painful or intense in non-erotic contexts. This spectrum encompasses both the giving (sadism) and receiving (masochism) of such sensations, creating experiences where pain, intensity, and pleasure become interwoven through deliberate and controlled application.

People enjoy sadomasochistic activities for diverse reasons: the intense endorphin rush that creates natural highs, the intimate trust required between partners, the transformation of pain into pleasure through context and arousal, and the cathartic release many experience through intense sensation. Rather than being about suffering, well-executed SM play creates unique states of consciousness and connection that many practitioners find impossible to access through other means, offering profound physical and psychological experiences when practiced with skill and care.



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