On the Service Paradox

In all consensual slave play, and all Dominant/submissive play, there is the so-called "service paradox".  It is part of "power exchange". What it means is that, while one player has an obvious position of power over another, the exercise of that power entails a reversal of roles such that the dominant player often ends up in service to the submissive. That is, while a slave obviously serves a Master, the conduct of play often means that a Master will need to serve his slave.

This is simply to say that the role of Slavekeeper entails responsibilities to the slave. A slave is a helpless servant, not a self-supporting free agent. A Keeper has an absolute obligation to protect and look after his slave. In this, he will often need to be in her service. His role is therefore paradoxical. He is the Master and she the servant, and yet the Master must serve. For example, a slave must be housed and fed. This is the Slavekeeper's responsibility. A Slavekeeper soon discovers that keeping a slave means devoting time and energy to her keep.

Gentlemen who aspire to own an odalisque should be aware of this. While owning a cockslave is a great joy and a means to exquisite pleasures, those joys and pleasures come with responsibilities and obligations. A Slavekeeper will find himself devoting a lot of his time - and perhaps some of his money - to the up-keep of his slave. This is especially the case for an odalisque, because she is not a work slave. An odalisque is preserved from toil and kept exclusively for sex. It is the Keeper's responsibility to look after her. She serves him, yet he is in her service too. The service paradox.

No one should underestimate this. It is important to realise that keeping a cockslave can be hard work. A Keeper must keep. Immature men fail to appreciate this and imagine that keeping an odalisque is one non-stop orgy of fun. A mature man appreciates that there are serious responsibilities in keeping a slave and that orgies of fun are only part of the deal. There is a pact of mutuality between Master and slave in any Master/slave relationship. There is a duty of care on the part of the Master. That duty of care is a form of service.

The service paradox is part of the beauty of the Master/slave relationship. Outsiders wrongly suppose that the relationship is entirely exploitative and one-sided. This is not the case. Under Code d' Odalisque the duties and obligations of both Master and slave are carefully defined. It is a mutual relationship calculated to allow the greatest exploration of male sexual pleasure while at the same time ensuring the safety and well-being of the female slave. People who are interested in Code d' Odalisque should approach it in this way, with a realistic appreciation of the paradoxical nature of service.