sub/slave opinions

February 01, 2007

sub/slave opinions

Because of the confusion in my head at the moment about what exactly i am, and other such things............. Sir invited me to join in with His weekly discussion session with flamesoul. And the topic was 'differences between subs and slaves'. Sir had asked me to prepare for this session by doing some reading on the internet, which led to me discovering that there are 2 main schools of thought on slavery:

~ the 'sliding scale' school of thought, which sees submission as a continuum with 'slaves' on one end and 'bottoms' on the other. So according to this view a slave is a sub although not all subs are slaves, and a slave is a more extreme or intense type of sub, having given over all control to their Dom, not just some in certain areas or at certain times. i do agree with this view in some ways, because i think it is possible for a submissive to progress in her relationship to become a slave, and that slaves do all of the same things that most subs do, just to a wider and deeper degree. That's not to say that all subs have the capability or the desire to become a slave, because many do not, and it's also not to imply that a slave is better than or more advanced than a sub, because there are probably submissives out there who are more devoted than some slaves are. However, the theory is that a slave is a submissive who has taken her submission to its extreme.

~ the 'apples and oranges' school of thought, which sees subs and slaves as completely different types of people, who happen to both fall within the BDSM category. This view tends to see slaves as motivated by different reasons and needs than subs, having a completely different mindset in which they are compelled to surrender everything to their Dom and dedicate themselves to serving Him, whereas a sub is seen as giving over some elements of control in order to get her own needs met. i can see where this view comes from, because i do agree that a slave has a different mindset to a sub, and that both have a different mindset to a 'bottom'. But i do still feel that a slave should be placed on the submissive continuum despite these differences, because it is possible for a sub to grow and develop a slave mindset when she did not have it before.

Overall i feel that there are more similarities than differences between subs and slaves, and that it is nearly impossible to distinguish a clear line where a sub becomes a slave. i agree to some extent with both of the major schools of thought on slaves, but i tend to agree more with the 'sliding scale' of submission view. And i am hopeful that soon i will consolidate my own personal understanding of what a slave is, and whether i myself am one.