I think I'm a better Dom for having also subbed, but not for any reasons of practical experience, because everyone is different: what I want and need as a sub is quite different from what I like to do to my own subs.

What I've gained from switching is the knowledge that being a Dom doesn't make me any kind of superior being to the naked slave at my feet. I treat subs with respect, even when I'm torturing and humiliating them, because I know we're all the same behind the masks.

I think most of the harm done in the name of BDSM is done by Doms who really believe they are something special just because they're holding the whip, and that the sub is some kind of lower animal that exists just to be used. Which is a great fantasy, but if you don't know it's a fantasy, you're as dangerous as a man who really believes that all women secretly want to be overpowered and raped.