Service Top

A service top is a person who takes on the active or topping role in sex or a BDSM scene primarily to give their partner what they want, rather than to control the encounter for their own sense of dominance. The service top does the doing, applying stimulation, bondage, or penetration, while the bottom largely directs how it goes. This flips the common assumption that whoever is on top is automatically in charge. A service top still holds real responsibility for skill and safety and can always say no, but they choose to center the bottom's pleasure and instructions. The term is used across queer and kink communities and highlights how collaborative and negotiated these roles really are.