Master/Slave Relationship: What Is It?

A Master/slave relationship is different from other relationships in that it functions through an elaborate set of rules (protocol) that to most in the non-Master/slave community will seem ridiculous and at times even disturbing. However, for those in the Master/slave community, such protocol serves to create a bond between the Master and slave, the intensity of which will not be found in any other relationship.

This Master/slave protocol is itself different from most slave protocol manuals, in that it is written by a v-slave and not a Master. Even some of the best protocol manuals written by Masters, as might be expected, have only a limited understanding of what goes on in the mind of a slave, which is very different from what any Master may imagine.

The mind of a Master Is not that of a slave. What the first does not know Could not fit in hell's cave.

What is a v-slave? A person who feels empowered by volunteering to make most of his own wants and needs secondary to the wants and needs of another (the Master) and who agrees that if he or she does not do so, the Master has the right, in some previously agreed-upon manner, to punish the slave — physically or non-physically. Being a slave is not the same as thinking one wants to be a slave. No one is a slave until he has served under a Master, which just might cure him of wanting to be a slave.

Naturally, this leads to another question: what is a Master? This is a person who feels empowered by convincing another person (a slave) to voluntarily make the slave's wants and needs secondary to that Master and is given the right by that other person to punish him or her in some previously agreed-upon manner if the slave does not follow through on his or her slave status. However, a Master also has been recognized as a Master by his peers and is able to keep a v-slave for an extended period of time. What a Master is not is a petty dictator. He is not someone who feels empowered by controlling others against their will.

Please note that most of the experiences of this author have been with male Masters, Doms, slaves, and subs. He has had occasional interactions with female slaves of male Masters, female slaves of female Masters (Mistresses), and male slaves with female Masters (Mistresses), but he does not know enough about their inner dynamics to legitimately judge how much his experiences can be thought to match theirs; he suspects that the will to obey is genderless.

This protocol is dedicated to my current Owner, Master Lynn Sipe. I owe all of the detailed slave protocol that is found below to the following individuals and organizations: the other Masters I have had and known; the slaves and subs I have known and played with; the founders of the Punishment Club LA; the founders of the slave rap group LA; my once-upon-a-time submissive (Boston); the uniform/leather club Trident International, Los Angeles; the SM club Avatar, Los Angeles; and the National Leather Association, Los Angeles.

The Law

When it comes to the Master/slave issue, the obvious should be noted, namely the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution (1865). That amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime. However, it says nothing about "voluntary" slavery. Naturally, such v-slavery has no recognition in the law and is exclusively a part of the power-exchange subculture.

Slave Protocol

Protocol is a code of correct conduct or set of rules and acceptable behavior used at official ceremonies and occasions. It is closely related to and overlaps with etiquette, which is also a set of rules for acceptable behavior. Etiquette is what most people learn as they grow up and is usually less ceremonial than protocol. What follows is called slave protocol, although much of it could be called slave etiquette. But whereas etiquette might be observed wherever one went and with whomever one interacted, protocol is generally observed in more limited places and with a more limited group of persons.

Very little of the following protocol is oriented to those who only have a desire to play the slave once in a while in a one-night stand. For those players, slavery is a fantasy game for guys who know that as soon as the game is over, they can return to the safety of being independent and free to do as they please — until the next time they want to play slave. Serious slaves never play at being slaves, for they wish to be nothing more than slaves and see being independent and free to do as they please as unsatisfying. This protocol is for those who are genuine slaves and their Masters.

As one should expect, there are many misconceptions about being a slave, and we will deal with these throughout this manual. Let us start with the most critical one. The core of a person in slavery is not sadomasochism, bondage, erotic discipline, non-erotic discipline (punishment), or playing with sex toys. All these are peripheral to any real sense of slavery. Instead, a slave's core consists of adopting a certain ritualized lifestyle of self-disciplined behavior. This may include how, in the presence of his Master or even when not with him, the slave speaks or...