Trainee usually refers to someone who enjoys being taught, corrected, and developed through guided training. Training may focus on submission, service, protocol, sexual behavior, BDSM skills, or meeting the expectations of a particular dynamic.
The trainee role often overlaps with submissive, but they don't necessarily mean the same thing. A submissive is defined by giving some degree of control to another person. Trainee puts more emphasis on learning and development. Someone could potentially be trained as a Top, Dominant, rigger, or in another BDSM skill without identifying as submissive at all.
For submissive trainees, structure and feedback are usually central. Some submissives use the term trainee to indicate they are still learning.
