Hmmm... well. I definately am more inclined to be dominant with a male partner and submissive with a female partner, and in my recent thoughts have developed something of a theory about it. Just some educated guesses, really. But in case you're interested...

I would imagine that this combination has arisen due to two factors, both related unsurprisingly to my upbringing and experiences. My preference to be dominant with a male partner I think stems from that streak of alpha-male competitiveness that a long involvement with organised sport has instilled in me, aside from the base biology underlying it. I've always been in environments that have stressed competition, so it's become somewhat ingrained, I suppose.

I think my tendancy to be submissive with a female partner comes from the era I've been brought up in. As someone who is, shall we say, a little younger than the majority of members on this site, I've grown up in the first era where feminism and gender equality has (argue this all you wish) been an idea we've been exposed to in a long term and pervasive fashion. It's become ingrained to the point where I have to feel very comfortable with a woman before the idea being dominant with her becomes something I can do without an automatic response of chauvanist guilt. I wonder if that's something anyone else feels?