"Giving up money is giving up power--and they're looking to give up power."

Financial domination (or findom, as it's known for short) is an uncommon sexual interest in which people--usually men--find it arousing to be "forced" to give their money to a dominant partner who will do with it as they please. The guys who part with their dough are often referred to as "cash slaves" or "pay pigs" and what they're really getting off on is the fact that they're giving up power and letting someone else control them. There's not necessarily even any sex involved in these relationships because the arousing part is the feeling they get from having someone else in control of their finances.

The exact details of these situations vary, but it appears as though many of them take place entirely online. For instance, some cash slaves will simply send regular payments (or payments on demand) to a dominatrix. By contrast, others will give a dominant partner complete control over their bank account, with some cash slaves going as far as to allow the dominant partner to set a budget for them and control access to their own money.

Financial domination can be viewed as a variant of BDSM, but not just because there is a clear theme of dominance and submission--there's often an element of masochism as well. For instance, submissive partners are sometimes humiliated or degraded as they hand over their money.

For a closer look at the world of financial domination, check out the fascinating video below from VICE's "Love Industry" series. Not only will you see interviews with several actual cash slaves and dominatrixes, but sex therapist Dr. Michael Aaron offers some insight into the psychology behind this unique sexual interest. It's well worth a watch. To learn more, check out this article.