The Psychology of Slavery

Understanding Consensual Slavery

By Norische

Aeschylus – Destiny waits alike for the free man as well as for him enslaved by another's might.

Throughout time millions of individuals have fought and died to free their brother, friend, and child from the oppressions of slavery. Every nation, every country, every culture has been touched by the strong-arm of involuntary slavery; nowhere in our society today can you find a man whose heritage has not in some way been influenced by the chains that bind a slave to his Master. Helen Keller stated "there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his."

Is it not man's plight to free the enslaved, enlighten the oppressed, and educate the ignorant? How is it then that we, as free people, strive to enslave those that we feel worthy of such a status? How can we take away the freedom of one individual when we ourselves would gladly lay down our lives to free another? Men and women for generations have fought side by side to gain the rights and freedoms that we presently hold so dear; how can we in good conscience then take away that which we hold to such a high esteem.

Even with all its magnificent enlightenment, and pseudo democratic policies this world is anything but free. Based on a complement of reports from governmental and non-governmental organizations, there are perhaps 27 million individuals currently held in non-voluntary slavery existing within our world today; between 700,000 and 4 million individuals were brought into America in the last 3 yrs alone. Hidden deep within the camouflage of cheap or immigrant labor; people are being "indentured" quite literally to death. Within organized crime, human trafficking is the second largest racket. Human trafficking is the third biggest illegal trade world wide, which makes annual profit of up to $5 billion to $7 billion after drugs smuggling and gun running. Children sold to sweat shops in third world countries, young women sold to brothels, young men sold to mines and farms, the list is endless. Over population and financial depression has created a new class of individuals.

In 1850 a slave would have been sold for the equivalent of $40,000.00. In today's slave labor farms you can buy an individual for as little as $90.00 US. These individuals are considered a disposable commodity and find themselves living in horrible conditions, filled with disease and death. Today much of the slavery that exists in our world can be considered economic slavery; a mother needs money to feed her three children, so she sells her oldest child to a mine so that she can have the money to feed the other two. Unfortunately, when that money runs out she may end up selling another child, and another until she is left alone with no other option but to go into slavery herself. It is a vicious cycle that leads to a long road of suffering and despair. The definitions of slavery have changed as the centuries progressed. In the past a slave was considered property, and treated as you would a fine piece of Chippendale furniture. You would make sure that they had food, shelter, and that they were kept in good health, after all they were an investment and you had to make sure you got your money's worth. In today's civilized society slavery has taken on several new meanings. In many areas of the world slavery is commonly understood to be a negative connotation, something that is atrocious and inhumane. In other more economically challenged areas, slavery is viewed as an economically sound way to obtain cheap labor... in these areas slaves are viewed as disposable. When an individual becomes ill, weak or old they are merely discarded or killed, at the convenience of the slave owner; it is far cheaper to by another slave than to buy the medicine to keep a slave healthy.

With all this inhumanity drowning the civilized society that we live in today, how is it that some individuals willingly go into slavery. How can an individual whose heritage is wrought with fighting oppression and discrimination, willingly allow themselves to be enslaved?

African American

In 1509 a trading expedition from Portugal brought to Spanish Florida, the first African Americans into our great nation. From that day forward the African Americans present within this nation have been fighting for equality and freedom. After centuries of struggle is it possible for an individual to strive to go back to a thing now considered immoral and inhuman?

When an African American decides to willingly give up their freedom and enter into consensual slavery, what type of psychological trauma do they go through? When someone that is of African decent makes this life choice, there are many things that may hold him or her back. Even if an individual were able to discuss their choices with his or her family, they would undoubtedly find rather stiff opposition; the same may be expected from friends. There may not be anyone to talk to that is of his/her own nationality or culture, no one that will not condemn them for making a choice that does not support their point of views. People will not see it as an individual seeking the comfort of a collar and the wondrous joy of being called slave, they will see an African American being trapped into slavery again; the difficulty will be multiplied if the Master or Mistress is Caucasian. The outside world will see the oppressed being pushed back down and crushed under the harsh thumb of the "Massa".

To those outside the BDSM realm there are many ideas that contradict the pride and fulfillment of becoming a slave. For example: a collar is not something to be proud of; it is something to be ashamed of, something that negates centuries of struggle and progress. To be led by an individual on a chain, is degrading, not something that can be done with honor or dignity. To call someone Master is morally wrong, not something that you relish or dream of. To proudly admit to being a slave is to spit on the graves of all those who died fighting for your freedom. To willingly take the brand of your Master is to slit your own throat in the eyes of humanity, an act of barbarism, and an offence to the very God that gave you an existence. Samuel Adams stated "The right to freedom being the gift of the Almighty God, it is not in the power of man to alienate this gift and voluntarily become a slave."

Facing all this opposition, is it not evident the inner strength that must be present for someone to willingly give up all that they hold dear, all that they cherish, to exchange centuries of heritage for a small band of leather. The heart of a slave is not shriveled, starved for attention, frightened by the cruel realities one must face in our world today. No, quite the contrary a slave's heart is over flowing with honor, dedication and pride; beating strong for both slave and Master/Mistress, living every second with the full knowledge that they are cherished and knowing well their place within this universe.

Is it now possible to understand more clearly the psychological turmoil that a slave must go through? Is it now clearly visible that one does not enter into this devotion easily? Do you now understand the opposition that each slave must face before they kneel for the first time before their owner?

Females

Two thirds of all illiterate individuals are females. 70% of the world's poor are women, while women represent only 1% of the worlds wealthy. Women are paid 30% to 40% less than male employees, even though statistics show that they work 67% of the world's working hours. 840 million individuals go malnourished around the world, 450 million women of reproductive age are disable due to malnutrition even though women produce 80% of the food in Africa and 50% of the food in South Asia.

Women were not given the right to vote until the 16th amendment, which was ratified on August 16th 1920; black men, former slaves, were given the right to vote in 1863. Women have been viewed as second-class citizens for centuries.

Susan B. Anthony was one of the strongest advocates of Women's rights in the mid-19th century, and is a representative figure of this politically oriented types of feminists politics. In 1872 she was arrested after casting an 'illegal' vote in the presidential election. She was fined $100 but refused to pay. She delivered this speech in 1873. Friends and fellow citizens: I stand before you tonight under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that in thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, simply exercised my citizen's rights, guaranteed to me and all United States citizens by the National Constitution, beyond the power of any state to deny. The preamble of the Federal Constitution says: "We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people - women as well as men. And it is a downright mockery to talk to women of their enjoyment of the blessings of liberty while they are denied the use of the only means of securing them provided by this democratic-republican government - the ballot. For any state to make sex a qualification that must ever result in the disfranchisement of one entire half of the people is to pass a bill of attainder, or an ex post facto law, and is therefore a violation of the supreme law of the land. By it the blessings of liberty are forever withheld from women and their female posterity. To them this government has no just powers derived from the consent of the governed. To them this government is not a democracy. It is not a republic. It is an odious aristocracy; a hateful oligarchy of sex; the most hateful aristocracy ever established on the face of the globe; an oligarchy of wealth, where the rich govern the poor.

An oligarchy of learning, where the educated govern the ignorant, or even an oligarchy of race, where the Saxon rules the African, might be endured; but this oligarchy of sex, which makes father, brothers, husband, sons, the oligarchs over the mother and sisters, the wife and daughters, of every household - which ordains all men sovereigns, all women subjects, carries dissension, discord, and rebellion into every home of the nation.

Webster, Worcester, and Bouvier all define a citizen to be a person in the United States, entitled to vote and hold office.

The only question left to be settled now is: Are women persons? And I hardly believe any of our opponents will have the hardihood to say they are not. Being persons, then, women are citizens; and no state has a right to make any law, or to enforce any old law, that shall abridge their privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination against women in the constitutions and laws of the several states is today null and void, precisely as is every one against Negroes.

After women such as this have suffered for freedom, have marched for equal rights and have picketed the steps of the white house, how is it a woman can lower herself to kneel at the feet of a man. How can a women dare to ignore the oppression, the degradation and humiliation of decades of subhuman treatment. Can a woman in all good consciousness allow another to claim her as property when women for ages have fought to break the cycle of servitude?

With all the oppression that has held women at bay and forced them to accept what few choices were presented to them, is it possible to kneel before someone without feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. Giving up the opportunity to achieve greatness in exchange for the opportunity to wear a collar, owned... not equal, a possession, or a trinket to be showed off.

With the constant struggle for equality in today's society, it is a great sacrifice for a woman to give up that equality in exchange for the certainty of being owned. To find comfort in giving up one's individuality in exchange for the boundaries and demands placed on you by another is viewed by most as a clear sign of insanity.

Males

In a world surrounded by male supremacy is it not blasphemy for a man to kneel at the feet of a woman? How can a man in all good conscious give all that he has so rightfully earned away, to humble himself to the most unspeakable depths of his existence? How dare a man lower himself to kiss the shoe of another?

From the time that a child is old enough to learn, society begins to mold their mind into its own patterns of thought. Man and woman are engrained into a child's mind; the roles and specific characteristics that are acceptable to each gender are fed to them on a daily basis. Men are supposed to be the leaders, the strong, and the intelligent ones. Women are supposed to be the weaker, demure, and emotional ones. A male plays with trucks, and guns while a female plays with dolls, and tea sets. The fossilized ideals of this society leave no leeway for independent thought or individualism. A male that plays with dolls is labeled as gay, or a sissy even at such an early age. A female that wishes to climb trees and play sports is labeled a tomboy.

Society has a strict order of what is acceptable in all forms of life when it comes to gender. If a male is sexually active at an early age then he is a "stud", but females are expected to remain a virgin until their wedding day. A male is expected to get a job that pays well, while a female is expected to marry a good man. A male is expected to be the head of his household and "wear the pants in his family"; a woman is expected to be a loyal and dutiful wife. A male is expected to be analytical and unemotional, while a female is expected to be uncontrollable and an emotional volcano.

The ideal of male superiority touches all realms of life, from the political, to the spiritual, from the physical to the financial. Politicians are normally thought of in a masculine frame. The Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and Rabbis are all male. Men are presumed to be stronger, smarter and more stable than women. Within the financial world men earn an average of 30 – 40% more in wages than women.

With all of these forces directing a male to be in power, how can a male give up that power and kneel before another. How can a man strip himself of generations of stereotypical behaviors and suddenly give up all his authority to the will of another. Does not the act of surrendering ones will emasculate a man within society itself? Is not submission or slavery the act of social castration? How then can a man take all that he has been bred to believe, the very origin of his persona and toss it away for the privilege to kneel at the feet of his Master/Mistress?

Each individual that makes the decision to become a slave is fighting generations of conditioning. Giving up your mind, body and soul to another cannot be taken lightly. With each slave there comes a point when they must examine their role within society. They must look at who they are and understand what the choices they make mean, not only to themselves but also to society in general.

There are those that state that slavery is a coward's way out, a means of escaping reality and relinquishing responsibility to another. There are some that may see slavery as easy, but what they do not see is the true nature of slavery. Slavery is viewed by most civilized societies as being a negative connotation. For generations we have fought to free ourselves from slavery, to rid ourselves of discrimination and to elevate ourselves above the level that of those that find human life to be so irrelevant. Men and women of all races, all ages and all nationalities have died so that we might have freedom. How dare we forsake their sacrifice and return to the roles of Master/Mistress and slave.

Perhaps when we take into consideration those that died for our freedoms, we should also acknowledge the fact that those same freedoms that we hold so precious are ours to keep or to give away as we see fit. How dare anyone tell us that we do not have the right to give away our own freedom; that if by informed consent we surrender our power to another that we do not have the right to do so. How dare they hold freedom in such high standards but refuse to allow us the right to do with our lives what we choose. If we are truly free them we have the right to be Master/Mistress or slave/sub as we see fit.

The True Nature Of A Slave

The true nature of a slave is a prismatic wonder of honor, pride, and self-sacrifice. Within all its glory and surrounded by dedication, obedience and infinite patience, a slave is truly one with the universe. A slave has a great need for structure and form, but they also crave flexibility and acceptance. A slave seeks no recognition, nor award for dedication; they selflessly give of themselves and ask only that they be allowed to serve.

There is nothing so wondrous as to look into the eyes of your slave and see the reflection of your heart laid out before you. I have never known pride until I saw it though the eyes of my slave. To understand at that moment, that it is because of my slave that I am allowed to be whom I wish to be, a Mistress.

There is a purity of spirit within a slave that can be matched by nothing else. There is a sense of respect and honor that knows no bounds. A pride that shows for all to see, and an understanding of self that is beyond most. A slave must know him or herself and must be secure in who they are and all the choices they make in order to serve. When a slave kneels at a Master/Mistresses feet and looks up into those eyes, they know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are exactly whom they wish to be. Even in a world so devoted to forcing its will upon them, at their Master's /Mistress's feet they know freedom.

As with everything this is my opinion, take what you will and leave the rest. If you wish to contact me, my email address is Norisch1@mchsi.com. If you wish to see more of my work you may find a complete listing of all my writings at... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Norisches_Quill/?yguid=99788111 in the files section.