What is a slave, really?

[Borgs_slave]

[QUOTE=delia;499880]

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Slaves, like everyone else, have jobs/school/etc. Often, slaves will be employed (or in school to be employed) full time. Owners don't want lazy slaves sitting around all day, and on the flip side, slaves have to function in the real world. It is rare (I haven't come across one yet!) who stays home all day everyday "taking care of the house" & doing the other things written about in fantasy stories. Slaves are an integral part of the household, sure, but their Owners often want them to work & further themselves & their careers as well. Does this make slaves who work outside the house less "slave like"? No. If their Owner said "no more work," the slave would stop--it's Ownership, practicality & balance.

[.

So why be a slave?

Being a slave isn't for everyone. There's nothing WRONG with being a sub & NOT being a slave--in fact, most subs are, by nature, not good slaves. Slaves aren't superior to subs and not every sub should strive to be a slave. Slavery works for those that it works for. Slaves are another link in the chain, but they aren't the end all & be all of the "submissive universe."

However, for those who are slaves, it works. It is where they find fulfillment and happiness, it's where they finally find "their place" in the world. Many experiment with slavery & then return to being a submissive because they find it is not for them. Slaves are generally very self-starting, determined, creative, focused, devoted people who simply find that slavery is how they wish to live their lives.
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I liked the whole thread but these two things really jumped at me. These are the things in my experience that cause the most controversy on being a slave in general. Some assume that a slave is "better" than a sub. Like you said that is not true it is just something different that some choose to be. I get really perturbed when people assume slave means mindless robot and weak. I am a nurse in a cardiac intensive care unit, I am not meek and quiet. I just choose to live my life a different way.

[sisterhoney61 {RW}]

I used to be a member of a forum where all the submissive people there all insisted that they were slaves and not collared subs. They were all under the impression that being a slave was "better" than being a sub, and because I consider myself to be a sub and not a slave, that I didn't belong on that forum. They basically told me that because I didn't consider myself owned property, that because I didn't greet my Master every day, naked and kneeling, because I wasn't Master's footstool while He watched the evening news, that I wasn't really in the lifestyle. I attempted to get it through their heads that my D/s/BDSM lifestyle was just as valid as theirs. But there are only so many times you can post your own opinions and ideas and be ignored. So I left them behind and found this site.

Just because I consider myself a sub and not a slave does not mean that my own lifestyle with my Master is not valid. It does not mean that I do not belong in BDSM or D/s. Being a slave is not "better" than being a sub. Like Borgs slave has said, they are just different ways to live. And when it comes down to it, they are labels. But it has always been human nature to put labels and names on everything, unfortunately.

[neitsyst2]

I've had quite a few conversations about this topic recently and I really appreciate the original post and the responses given. Because there are so many of us that are new to the lifestyle and learning it is interesting and challenging to have a glimpse into parts of the lifestyle that we have not, cannot yet, or may not earn the opportunity to experience. I am grateful for the time that you a/All put into the forums.

[denuseri]

well my owner and i seem to be in like total agrement with the thread delia,even the gorean part its especially nessesary to field this topic, we get asked all the time the differences between the three sub/slave/kajira etc, and labels as some would call them are sometimes nessesary to explain catagorical differences. (shrugs)

very big thankies for the wisdom of this thread

[Lady Hecate]

I found it very informative, especially as I am pretty new to this lifestyle

I do have one question though. I don't know if anyone else has asked this so I hope I am not being repetitive, but I still don't know what a Gorean slave really is. Can anyone shed some light on this?

[Lady Hecate]

Tojo and Dragon's Muse:

I can understand the point that both of you are making, but on the other hand, I seriously wish I had read these definitions on exactly what a Master/slave relationship is before I plunged headlong into posting my personal ad.


I posted an ad asking for a "Master" or "Mistress" and i was not even clear that there was a difference between a "Master/Mistress" and a "Dom/Domme"
Truthfully, I should have asked for a "Dom/Domme" but what's done is done.

My only point here is that knowing the exact definitions does have some usefulness at least sometimes.

[Kuskovian]

Thats a simple question Hecate, and you will find many complex answers in the Gor and largely Gorean lifestyle thread as well as the Gorean Agora social group here at this site. Basically Kajira is the Gorean word for slave.

[thepast]

Bumping, on request.

[kalitat]

Thank you for the breakdown of this valuable information.

[Guera]

I agree, thanks Delia.

Yet another definition to be muddled: owner. Its the best word I can come up with, because I would consider my him as my pet. I care for him and take responsibility for him, good and bad. I also own him, but not as a slave.