Sex and work

Question: I don’t see the point in having a slave that is only for sex and doesn’t work. Sex is only a small part of a Master/slave relationship. Beyond that, a slave should work. As a Master I insist on it.

Answer: In that case, your slave is what is described in Code d’ Odalisque as a “memlook” and is not what is properly described as an “odalisque”. By definition, an odalisque is a sexual slave. That is all she does. She is spared from toil in order to protect her beauty and in order that she might dedicate herself to the erotic arts. That is what an odalisque is.

Imagine the following scenario:

A woman is a captive slave in the slave dens of the ancient east. She cooks, cleans, toils and also serves the bed of men. It is a hard life of little dignity and few rewards. But one day a wealthy gentleman notices this woman slave and finds her very attractive. He thinks to himself, “It is a travesty to see a creature of such beauty wasting her talents in the kitchens!” So he purchases her and elevates her to the status of an “odalisque.” She is now preserved from labour and is kept for her beauty and her eroticism. She is pampered compared to low slaves. He keeps her as an object of beauty and pleasure.

Such slaves (odalisques) were common in the ancient slave traditions, along with concubines, courtesans and temple prostitutes. Code d’ Odalisque is a revival of the institution of odalisque in a modern, consensual form.

If a slave works, then she is a memlook, an ordinary or “low” slave, not an odalisque. That is fine in itself, and it may be an arrangement that suits some Slavekeepers and some slaves. But an odalisque – properly speaking – is different. She is kept for sex. Indeed, she may even have memlooks serving her, such is her special status.

Odalisque slavery is a special type of slavery. It is important to see how it differs from ordinary slavery. Sex is the focus of odalisque slavery. If a Slavekeeper does not need lots of sex then he probably doesn’t need an odalisque. And – even where there is lots of sex – an odalisque will inevitably enjoy lots of free time, time spent sleeping, relaxing, preening, luxuriating. An opulent captivity, but captivity all the same.

Odalisque slavery is a platform for sexual exploration. The revival of odalisque slavery should be accompanied by the revival of the erotic arts to which an odalisque is dedicated. Code d’ Ode is a creative undertaking in this regard. It seeks to revive the institution of odalisque, and to stimulate the erotic arts that go with odalisque slavery.