Good thread. I'm pretty new to everything, and am still in that stage of trying to figure out exactly where I fit in. I do have a dominant side, but find myself thinking and fantasizing about submission much more often, so I pretty much came to the conclusion that I'm more of a sub. I don't think my dom side is prevalent enough to consider myself a switch, but maybe. But I don't see why so many people think being a switch is so impossible. People automatically take dom/sub roles in everyday life, don't they? Just think about your circle of friends. Maybe when you get together with a particular person, they're the one who makes all the plans, say "we're going here, we're doing this," they have that personality, and you just say "Okay." You automatically fall into that role, they're in charge. Or maybe it's the other way around, and another of your friends is more shy and quiet, so you're the one who makes the plans and calls the shots. Or maybe you're both on the same page and plan the night evenly. I think everyone has those kinds of dynamics with people in their everyday life, so why would it be so impossible to have those same reactions in a BDSM sense? To feel more sub around a certain person, more dom around another, or even one way or the other around the same person, depending on mood and moment. It makes sense to me.
I think a lot of people just tend to view things in extremes. I mean really, what "is" a Dom/Domme? What "is" a sub? What "is" a switch? Shouldn't it be in how each person defines it for themselves? Everyone's different, why try to fit everyone under the same umbrella? For example, I want to start learning and exploring as a sub, but I'm not sure I'd want to be in a 24/7 D&S relationship. If I were dating someone, I'd want it to be part of our relationship, but not the entire basis of it. Others might dream of being an owned slave. There's nothing wrong with either, but I think a lot of people are more inclined to think of the owned slave as being a true sub rather than the person who might want to submit in the bedroom but not in every aspect of their lives. To them, their definition is a certain way, and things that don't fit don't count, like switching. And there's nothing wrong with their definition, they just need to be open-minded enough to accept that definitions that aren't exactly the same as theirs can be just as valid.