Trust

Trust is fundamental to any consensual Master/slave relationship. The degree of surrender required of a woman for her to fully embrace the role of “cockslave” is beyond the ordinary. The Code acknowledges this and speaks of a “profound trust between men and women”:

9.12. - Trust

The relationship between Master and slave is founded upon trust at all levels. It is the intention of this Code to foster an environment of profound trust between men and women that it might serve as a framework for all varieties of Master/odalisque relations. 

We hardly need to add here that trust of any kind is a rare commodity in the contemporary world. It is a sad fact that we live in times when people commonly won’t keep their promises and they lie, cheat and steal with moral impunity. There has been a break-down of standards on this level. Chivalry is gone. Self-interest reigns. Where in the modern world can you find a man who is a man of his word in the old fashioned sense?

Even worse, as a consequence of feminist ideology there is now a fundamental mistrust between men and women. The bedroom has been made into a political arena. Young women are taught to regard men as their political oppressors. Men, resentful at being demonized, harden themselves and retreat into misogyny. In the last fifty years or so political currents have profoundly disturbed relations between males and females. In this context, trust has been undermined. How can a woman trust a man if she thinks men are the agents of patriarchal oppression? How can a man trust a woman who thinks that way about men?

Trust – like manners, politeness, cleanliness, respect - is one of many old fashioned values built into and promoted within Code d’ Odalisque. There is an ethic of trust that should be observed by all players at all times. It is important that no one has a hidden agenda. It is important that people say what they mean. It is especially important that Master/slave relations, and male/female relations generally, rest upon a foundation of mutual respect and mutual acknowledgement and are not poisoned with the culture of mistrust created by contemporary gender politics. Gender roles in Code d’ Ode are fairly traditional. Men should be gentlemen. Women should be ladies. That, at least, is the starting point of play.

Above all, the odalisque must have full trust that her Master values her and will put her welfare and safety first in all circumstances. With safety comes trust. If an odalisque feels safe she can give her trust to her Master. With safety comes respect for limits. The slave needs to have complete trust that her limits will be respected and that her consent will not be violated. It also needs to be appreciated – it is very often overlooked - that for submissives trust comes as a pleasure. A submissive loves to trust. If he is to own an odalisque a man must make himself worthy of this instinct in her. 

Similarly, there needs to be implicit trust between a slave and her Overmistress. An Overmistress is a confidente. The slave must have total trust that her Overmistress will always be there to help her if anything goes wrong. An Overmistress acts as a safety net for an odalisque. For her part, she must be able to trust that the odalisque in her charge will be honest with her, not conceal things, and be straightforward and candid.

Where a Slavekeeper is happy to share his odalisque with guests, this too must be a bond of trust. An odalisque is a valuable slave. Her Keeper is sworn to protect her and to keep her away from unworthy men. He can only share such a gem with men who have earned his trust and who he knows to be gentlemen of integrity.

The first act of trust between a Slavekeeper and his slave is at the point of purchase. He must purchase the slave in order to call her his own. To do this he must “convert” the slaveprice to “alms” and give money to a charity nominated by the woman being purchased. He pays for her by donating money to a charity as an act of almsgiving. But he doesn’t need to prove this to the slave. He merely needs to go to her and say, “The slaveprice has been paid.” And she must trust that he has paid the donation to the charity she nominated. As the first act – the act of purchase – it establishes the Keeper/slave bond upon a foundation of both generosity and trust.