What is BDSM?

[lucy]

submissive - inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination; "submissive servants"; "a submissive reply"; "replacing troublemakers with more submissive people"

subordinate - belonging to a lower or inferior class or rank; secondary. Subject to the authority or control of another.

What distinction do you make between the two?

I think the two are two rather different things. When i hear subordinate i think of an ensign at his first day in the army. He's not there against his free will, but very likely would prefer to be somewhere else.
A submissive on the other hand, at least in a BDSM setting, is submitting on her/his own free will. She/he isn't necessarily of an inferior class or rank.

Otherwise i think the question "what is BDSM?" is extremely difficult to answer. And also very varying from person to person. What my Master and i practise would be probably called "vanilla with a sprinkle of kink" by many members of this board.
I lack the experience (and the age to know what i'm talking about) but i can imagine that people who practised "BDSM" 30 years ago are shaking their heads when they see what's called BDSM these days.
For me personally s in D/s is something i want and need to be really myself. Exploring that part of me is very important right now and where it will lead me i dunno yet and don't worry about either.

When i read that article i couldn't help but think that this "Taken by hand"-thing is just another tag on another small faction of BDSM-folks. I don't really like tags since their bound to not fit me sooner or later when i move forward (or in any direction. But to each his own and if the guy thinks another tag is what the world needs, then be it.