Different traditions

In order to place Code d' Odalisque and consensual odalisque slavery within the whole spectrum of contemporary erotic lifestyles, it is necessary to acknowledge and delineate divergent erotic traditions. It is fair to say that most people are probably ignorant of these various traditions and tend to have insular views, regarding their own way as the only way. Mainstream BDSMers tend to be like this very much. There is something disturbingly smug about many people in the 'scene'. They look down their noses at so-called "vanilla" people and sneer at anyone who does things differently. Among BDSMers generally, the SM crowd are especially prone to this. They tend to treat people who are not into SM as inferiors, as people who are not into the 'real thing'. But in fact, the SM side of the BDSM spectrum is only one tradition among many. Specifically, it is a tradition with its roots in the French Revolution. The great spokesman of the tradition was the Marquis de Sade who explored and defined a genre of eroticism based in the reflexes of sadism and masochism. Some of the features typical of the tradition are: chains, whips, leather, torture, clamps, wracks, dungeons etc. You know the stuff. It is a tradition that eroticizes pain, fear and violence. More recently, this tradition - often developed in association with military culture - has sometimes taken the name 'Old Guard', so let's call it that for want of a better name: the Old Guard tradition.

But not everyone within the BDSM spectrum is into sadomasochism. There are other traditions. One of these has been beautifully rendered by John Norman in his World of Gor fiction series. While cast as science fiction, Norman in fact evokes a world of noble Barbarian culture. The Gorean lifestyle that has developed from this is founded upon ideals of naturalism, with its chief motif being the right of the strong to rule. Male dominance and female submission is seen as a natural order that, when properly restored, allows for an innate beauty and dignity in both Master and slave. This has very little to do with Marquis de Sade and the 'Old Guard' tradition. The Gorean tradition - a modern invocation of an ancient order - is not about eroticizing pain, fear and violence. It is a different tradition. Often, in on-line BDSM chat rooms, Goreans converse with Old Guard types. Their conversations are at cross purposes. They belong to very different traditions with very different philosophies and ideals. Goreans, it must be said, often do not fully appreciate the extent to which their tradition is different to the French Revolution Old Guard tradition in both principle and practice.

Then there is odalisque slavery. It is a tradition of female sexual submission. It does not draw upon models from the French Revolution and it does not look back to the models of tribal Barbarians. Instead, it looks to the historical slave traditions of the ancient and medieval Orient. This is a sumptuous slavery that served a hedonistic culture of urban traders. The odalisque is a specifically erotic slave. The odalisque lifestyle is for sexually submissive women. But there is no sadomasochism involved. No dungeons and whips. The natural arena of the odalisque is the bath and the spa and the boudoir. This is a very rich tradition that once fascinated the imaginations of Europeans. There is a rich tradition of odalisque imagery in European painting and early erotic photography. Code d' Odalisque is a revival of odalisque slavery as another alternative within the broad range of erotic possibilities. It is specifically female submissive, and submission is specifically sexual. The implicit philosophy is hedonistic - the sophisticated man's pursuit of new pleasures. Plainly, this is a quite different thing to either Old Guard or Gorean modes of consensual slave play.

A lot of very annoying sniping goes on between advocates of these different traditions. A lot of misunderstanding and disagreements could be avoided if everyone acknowledged that there are different ways for different people. Some people respond to sadomasochism. That should be respected. Some people feel fulfilled by the Gorean lifestyle. That too deserves respect. It also needs to be ackowledged throughout the wide BDSM world that there needs to be an alternative for submissive females who do not respond to pain. They are submissive, but it is a sexual submission, and it is not suited to the 'Old Guard' lifestyle. Code d' Odalisque is a third way. Odalisque slavery is a different tradition again.