quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado
If there's anything that I've learned in my tender 25 years of life

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyPact

Feeling sorry for you that you don't have the sense of humor to get the joke is not the same thing as Me apologizing for making the joke in the first place.

Hey, there you go.  Another example of how words can be used in two situations and both still being correct.

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyPact

This would probably be a really bad time to mention the slave auction I'm promoting, wouldn't it, Sixteen?

quote:

ORIGINAL: jj292


Words have different meaning depending on the context that they are used in.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jj292

Wow. I cant believe this thread went to 7 pages so fast!
I havnt read the whole thing, but it seems everyone is arguing over semantics.

Words have different meaning depending on the context that they are used in. The argument in here seems focused on trying to compare slavery inside the BDSM realm to slavery outside the BDSM realm. They are two very different things. And they both center around an exit. In the BDSM world, you voluntarily submit yourself to another person. But you can always "un-submit." If a Dom or Domme is going so far that it effects your emotional or physical well-being, you can safeword out and end the activity. BUT during the activity when the dominant is within the pre-set bounds, you are under his/her control.

Now the slavery outside the BDSM world is one where a person cannot escape. They are forced into that situation whether they want it or not. That of course is very illegal world-wide, although still occurs in many parts of the world.

Also important to note a gray area in between some would call "consensual slavery" where a person on their own free will becomes a slave to another person without bounds. And the person has no desire to ever exit from the situation under any circumstance.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado

While I agree that there is no doubt a subjective element to words and ideas, can we agree that a "true slave" is simply a person who added a prefix not for what it should imply, but for their ego and perhaps to attract a partner to whom it might make a difference?

quote:

ORIGINAL: LadyNTrainer

(Ed. Note: all the good stuff deleted for brevity)

Whether it's a good idea to call what they have "True Slavery" is a whole other question, but I would say that it does meet pretty much every definition that has been put forward for the concept. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado

While I don't deny the master/slave dynamic can be in many ways real and no doubt very fulfilling, those who insist that they are or their partner is a "true slave," it brings to question the meaning and intent of such a claim. I understand how important it may be to someone's identity, but the I am doubtful to its legitimacy and suspicious of their intent. Or rather, it is quite clear to me that they feel it's something to brag about.

In an awkward and amusing way, the phrase "true slave" seems like some kind of egotistic elitism among a group that you would expect to be more docile.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado

While I don't deny the master/slave dynamic can be in many ways real and no doubt very fulfilling, those who insist that they are or their partner is a "true slave," it brings to question the meaning and intent of such a claim. I understand how important it may be to someone's identity, but the I am doubtful to its legitimacy and suspicious of their intent. Or rather, it is quite clear to me that they feel it's something to brag about.

In an awkward and amusing way, the phrase "true slave" seems like some kind of egotistic elitism among a group that you would expect to be more docile.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado

Porcelaine, reading your posts is like peeking into an alternate dimension in which I am an intelligent, polite, and mature woman.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Bravado

I'm not so stupid as to believe that there are any "true slaves" among the privileged people in the world, so I expect that any sub will have some tangible needs and expectations. When they argue that they have no such needs and are ready to commit themselves to be permanent property, I wonder if they even realize that it is a lie.

If they knew what true slavery was, then they wouldn't be asking for it. If you have the audacity to claim it's something you enjoy and want me to show you what true slavery is, come along, I have plenty of stones to haul and a place to dump your body when you've died of exhaustion.

While I respect that a person may have fantasies, and would like to roleplay the kink of being a real slave, I'm sure I can't be the only one that is annoyed when he is approached by a girl who attempts to convince you that she's the traditional definition of a slave and ready to serve as though all other BDSM slaves are posers. I'm willing to believe that someone out there masturbates to the idea of building a pyramid in the desert for a decade of unrewarded effort until their demise, but I don't think that person is a young white girl who hasn't worked for a decade in any job, let alone something brutal and unforgiving.

Do you suppose these people know that they are lying, or have lost themselves in a delusional fantasy? Have you had any experience relevant to the idea of a "true slave?"

This topic was inspired by the recent news, in which many Nigerian slaves were discovered being trafficked, which is unfortunately fairly common. I have great pity for those people, and their plight makes me wonder how any could convince themselves that it's what they want.