CaringandReal -> RE: Judging a dominant by their submissive's behavior? (1/29/2010 5:45:56 AM)
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At any rate (responding to the tail end of this thread), adults are a very different sort of creature than children, so it strikes me that the analogy of children as reflections of parenting skills is a misleading one and not very useful when exploring this question. The average adult has a lot more self-control. I don't look at most 30+ slaves and think, it's not her master's fault she's a brat: she's developmentlly disabled, she's got a psychological problem. Slavery involves almost as much self-control as outside control, I tend to think, and I don't believe an adult who is developmentally disabled or who has serious psychological problems can be a slave, because the illness makes them incapable of the intense amount of self-regulation required by such a role. Of course anybody can call themselves or their partners anything they want, but if I call myself a lawyer that doesn't magically make me one, even if I really really really want to be a lawyer and took the bar exam three times. As long as I keep failing it, I am not a lawyer, not matter how many times I state that I am. If someone hasn't the self-control necessary for constant or near-constant obedience, whether due to temperment, desire, or psychological issues, they are not a slave...in my opinion. They might very well make good submissives, though. As with nearly everything related to people, it depends on the total package. As far as behaving in public? It's complicated. Some dominants (rightly so, in many cases) hold bdsm communities in very low regard, seeing much of what they do as pure show and pretense with no substance, and may specifically instruct their slaves to act contrarily if they see fit, or to just be their honest selves in public and treat people according to their actions, not according to their titles. I'd rather see someone acting like that than the far more typical "pretend to be totally obedient and compliant and a perfect slave in public but as soon as we're alone throw a total hissyfit if master doesn't take me to a resturant I approve of" sort.
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