Doms?

Question: Do I need to be a Dom to be a slavekeeper?

It is not necessary that men be "Doms" in the technical sense in Code d' Ode, although it is a maledominant genre of sexual slavery. Real "doms" and real "subs" are defined by their power relations. But Code d' Ode is not essentially about power.
Certainly, the woman is a submitting slave and the man is the dominant
Slavekeeper, but a Slavekeeper in Code d' Ode need not be a "Dom" in the full
sense. That is, he does not need to get off on the control aspect of play.
Instead, the focus of play in Code d' Ode is always sexual. It is about sexual
pleasure, sexual adventure and sexual fantasy. The Slavekeeper's control of his
cockslave is incidental to this - it is not the point of the play itself.

Consequently, the main prerequisite for a Slavekeeper in Code d' Ode is not a
dominant personality and a love of the controlling of women, but a profound drive
to enjoy sexual pleasure and an overwhelming desire to explore his sexual
fantasy world. This must take a distinctly heterosexual form, at least in as
much as it involves a deep love of the feminine. Needless to say, any
woman-hating tendencies will make a man unsuitable for being a Slavekeeper.

No doubt many slaves require discipline and respond to a stern Master. That is
entirely permitted within the limits laid down in the Code, but all the same it
is not the point of play. Bondage play is fun but in Code d' Ode the point of
bondage is to place the slave in positions required for sexual access. Again,
bondage and captivity are means to an end, and that end is sexual.

It has been our experience so far that the majority of Keepers in Code play are
not "Doms" in the technical sense.

To be suitable for the role of Slavekeeper you need to be more than just horny.
Keeping an odalisque - that is keeping another human being as a slave - is not
all fun and games. It is a weighty responsibility. A Keeper must be mature and
level-headed. Above all he must have chivalric qualities, including courage
because to earnestly explore the deepening layers of your own inner fantasy
world can, in fact, be a scary undertaking. It is necessarily self-confronting.
Code d' Ode is about sexual joy, but it does have a "tantric" side. The slave
makes herself into the inner female that dwells in the male fantasy world. The
mode of play is "fantasy projection." The Keeper uses the slave to explore his
fantasy world.

Ever since the day he learnt to masturbate, every (hetero) male builds up images
of a fantasy female. She is luscious, cock-loving and compliant. The odalisque
makes herself into a projection of this fantasy female. If she serves her Master
well she will learn all she can about his inner female in order to become her.
This can in fact be confronting for men. Fantasy is one thing. When it becomes a
reality it is quite another. So a Slavekeeper needs to be a man of depth. These qualities are more important than a dominant personality.

Code d' Odalisque is unashamedly hedonistic. It is about the pursuit of pleasure. An odalisque is a pleasure slave. A Slavekeeper therefore must be a man who is in pursuit of pleasure, not the thrill of power. (Acknowledging, of course, that power is an aphrodisiac and an adjunct to pleasure. You can have both!)