The Edward Bagley Case

The present case of Edward Bagley cannot go without comment. See the article below. The abuse of young "sex slaves" by sadistic men is exactly what first gave impetus to Code d' Odalisque. The codifications of odalisque slave play offered in Code d' Ode are all calculated to prevent such cases. Moreover, such cases underline the fact that there is a problem of criminal abuse on the fringes of the BDSM sub-culture. Code d' Odalisque was first put together by people who were looking for consensual, safe and sane "sex slave" play within an organised framework without sado-masochism, torture and violence.

Please read the article below. It is an appalling case. It illustrates exactly what Code d' Odalisque is not.

* * *

Three men from the state of Missouri have been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the sexual torture of a woman who was held as a sex slave for six years.

For three years, the victim only could watch as prosecutors, defence lawyers and federal judges battled in court to resolve a grotesque sex torture and bondage case.

But on Wednesday, at last, was her day.

Three times the young woman, short and pretty, stood from a courtroom bench, walked to a lectern and described how the men who were to be sentenced that morning had hurt her - some through near suffocation, mutilation and even skewers through her breasts. All enjoyed applying electrical shocks, she said.

But each man, according to her descriptions, had dealt her a measure of cruelty that has changed forever how she views those around her.

"I don't know how to trust men," she said before revealing that she now has a baby daughter. "I have to protect her from men like Ed."

Edward Bagley, whom both she and prosecutors have described as her chief tormenter, remained in his seat just a few feet away, looking forlorn while dressed in orange jail scrubs and a pair of blue Crocs clogs.

US District Judge Dean Whipple had just sentenced the Lebanon, Montana, man to 20 years in federal prison.

In quick succession, Bradley Cook of Kirkwood also received a 20-year sentence, and Dennis Henry, a former postmaster from Wheatland, was sentenced to 10 years.

Three other defendants, James Noel of Springfield and Michael Stokes and Bagley's wife, Marilyn Bagley, both of Lebanon, await sentencing on Thursday.

When prosecutors filed the case in September 2010, they described the young woman as "mentally deficient" and said the indictment's allegations were "among the most horrific ever prosecuted in this district".

The allegations of torture were so wrenching that prosecutors chose not to mention them in official statements and a press release.

For five years, according to the indictment, the woman endured sexual torture with techniques described as "flogging, whipping, shocking, choking, piercing, sewing" and "stapling".

Her tormenters nailed intimate body parts to slabs of wood, sewed private orifices shut and forced high levels of electric current through the most sensitive parts of her body.

Defence lawyers responded almost immediately that they hoped to prove that the young woman had consented to the sadomasochistic sex, which would have made it all completely legal.

But as the lawyers reviewed the images and videos of the woman's condition, and weighed the prospects of presenting them to a jury, defendants began to plead guilty.

The victim, now in her mid-20s, said on Wednesday that her suffering was real.

"It started bad and got worse and worse," she said. "Ed told me I wasn't good for anything except to be used by him."

Bagley, 46, pleaded guilty in January to having a sexual relationship with the victim before her 17th birthday and then grooming her with bondage and sadomasochistic videos for life as his sex slave after she moved into his trailer home.

The woman elaborated in her statement, describing a hard life in and out of foster care before meeting Bagley when she was 15 or 16. He promised to protect her, she said. He had his wife model sexy clothes for her, and he showed her pornography and talked about how he was going to make her look beautiful.

"I was so excited about my new life," she testified before recounting the electric shock torture that "shoots your arms and legs out, and you want to die".

She added: "Ed killed me and brought me back to life."

Cook, 34, admitted at his December 2011 plea hearing that he often watched Bagley abuse the young woman during live online sessions.

Several times, Cook travelled to Lebanon to abuse and torture the woman, leaving Bagley with gifts of hard drives containing images and videos of bondage, domination, sadism and masochism. Cook said at his plea hearing that he believed that the woman had not consented to the acts and that it was the "most extreme he had ever seen".

Henry, 53, confessed in March 2011 to meeting the young victim in 2004 when Bagley invited him to Lebanon because he "had something to show him". There, Bagley presented the girl, who wore chains on her legs and restraints on her wrists.

Henry acknowledged having sex with the victim and whipping her in what he described as Bagley's "play room".

The Code Collection Archive

The work of several dedicated contributors, the Code Collection is an extensive collection of erotica, old and new, pertaining to the aesthetics and ideals of Code d' Odalisque. It features erotica across a wide range of categories. The Collection also includes instruction material.

Follow the direct link to the archive below:

The Code Collection Archive

Vow of Devotion (Repost)

5.9. - Vow of Devotion

Once she is bound and washed an odalisque is required to make a Vow of Devotion under threat of the sword. She shall be held forcibly, made to kneel and forced to expose the back of her neck to a sword wielded by whatever man is officiating. The position of kneeling, head forward and down and with the back of the neck exposed is the essential physical pose illustrating the cockslave's submission.

When a freewoman consents to enter life as an odalisque she makes a Vow of Devotion. This is usually done “under the sword”. The woman is naked on her hands and knees, her hair thrown forward, head down, the nape of her neck exposed. The Slavetrader (or the man presiding) places the cold steel of his sword on the back of her neck in an implicit threat of beheading. In this position he makes her give her Vow of Devotion. This consists of a series of assertions. The Trader says to her:

“Say: I am a cock slave!”

In response the woman says, “I am a cockslave”

The Trader says:

“Say: I am a cunt to be fucked!”

In response the woman says, “I am a cunt to be fucked!”

And so on.

Code d’ Odalisque includes a generic Vow of Devotion that can be used, but players should feel free to write their own Vow and to make it a creative feature of the woman’s initiation into the odalisque’s life.

These same Vows can also be included in later sessions of training or play. From time to time it is advisable to make a slave repeat her Vow of Devotion. It will remind her of her initiation (discalcing).

The intention of the Vow, it should be noted, is to dedicate the woman to cockworship – for this is what defines an odalisque and what sets her apart from other slaves. An odalisque is dedicated to serving male sexuality, and specifically phallic sexuality. She makes a vow to serve and worship cock. That is, she swears to be a sexual slave, serving male (phallic) sex, a cockslave. This is what makes her an odalisque. An odalisque is sworn to cockworship, and she does this through her Vow of Devotion. Article 5.11 of the Code explains:

5.11. - Intent of the Vow of Devotion

The intent and purpose of the odalisque's Vow of Devotion is to pledge herself to Cock Worship and devotion and service to the Phallus and to obedience to the men who are placed over her. It is the Vow of Devotion, above all, that makes her a sexual slave as distinct from any other type of slave.

The Red Rose in Thorns (excerpts)

Excerpts from The Red Rose in Thorns illustrating various aspects of Code d' Odalisque:

Methods of punishment

An odalisque is protected from cruel punishments and pain. She is not a pain slave. She is spared from the whip and the paddle in order to have her beauty preserved and in order for her to be dedicated to the arts of pleasure. How then is she disciplined? How does a Slavekeeper or a Slavetrainer instil good behaviour into her? How is she trained? How is she punished when she misbehaves?

Code d' Odalisque sets out recommended modes of punishment, as follows:

19.2. - Recommended modes of punishment

The recommended modes of punishment set by this Code and those employed in normal circumstances are:

(a) bondage - to remind the slave of her helplessness
(b) caging - to remind the slave of her captivity
(c) solitary confinement - to remind the slave of her captivity.
(d) silence - to remind the slave of her passive role
(e) holding positions - to teach the slave obedience
(f) chanting - to remind the slave of her purpose.

Note that each of them has a purpose. In each case, the punishment is designed to reinforce some aspect of slavery and to teach and improve the slave. Punishment is not for its own sake. In some forms of BDSM the punishment of slaves becomes the focus of play itself. The centre of play becomes the dungeon and the punishment of the slave is the action. In Code d' Odalisque, this is not the case. Ideally, a slave does not need to be punished very often, and when she does it is always with a view to correcting her behaviour.

There is, all the same, a great deal of latitude in this. The Code specifically forbids some types of punishment - for example, a Master cannot cut his slave's hair to punish her - and it recommends types of punishment, but there is scope for a Master or Trainer to devise methods suitable to his slaves. Like all aspects of odalisque slavery, there are broad parameters but within that it is always a creative endeavour. How a slave is punished for her failings, omissions and misdemeanours is a matter of creative slave play. 

The Non-Sadomasochistic alternative

The original impetus for Code d' Odalisque came from women who, while sexually submissive, did not want to be subject to sadomasochism. This is the main characteristic of Code d' Ode: it offers slave play without SM. Recent contacts reiterate that this is still the main motivation behind people who are interested in this style of slave play; they are looking for fem sub play without SM. While true odalisques are rare, and it is hard to find women who are suited to the odalisque lifestyle, it is surprising just how common it is to find women who are in the submissive-but-no-SM category. It is a very common sexual orientation. Remarkably, it is not well catered for.

This fact was illustrated to us recently when, in the company of several young (and not so young) women, we were looking for female submissive erotica on-line. It is a simple experiment. Open google and search images for search strings such as "female submissive sex." You will find that such searches yield a high proportion of images such as this:

Search results for "female submissive sex" yield very few images of female submissives having sex and quite a lot of images of women having their nipples tortured or their backs flogged raw with a cat-of-nine-tails. It raises the question: since when is this sex? Obviously there are people who find such images stimulating and presumably they get aroused by them - which is fine. But the women who were perusing this material with us found it quite the opposite. I paraphrase, but one of them put it like this:

That is exactly the problem! I'm a submissive, but I don't want to be treated like this. When I say I'm a submissive, I mean a sexual submissive. I like to be used for pleasure. But as soon as I say I'm a female sub, guys and so-called "doms" think I'm saying that I want to be tortured and beaten and spat on. That's not my idea of submissive!

The other ladies all agreed. They all described themselves as "submissive" but they all found these images a turn off. Why, it must be asked, does a search string like "female submissive sex" turn up hundreds of images of pain maids? Why is there so little content concerning submissive females who are not into pain? Why should the word "submissive" be synonymous with sadomasochism? 

Code d' Odalisque offers female submissives a clear alternative. It is a different mode of slave play that draws upon different traditions of slavery. It is essentially hedonistic, devoted to sexual pleasure, rather than to "power exchange". It is essentially non-sadomasochistic; an odalisque is regarded as a creature of beauty and is protected from abuse and violence. Instead, an odalisque is a female sexual servant - not a pain slave. It is a defining feature of odalisque slavery. It is about pleasure, not pain. 

Converting your wife to an odalisque

A wife is very different to an odalisque. They have starkly different roles and different functions. The Master/slave relationship is very different to the modern husband/wife relationship. The most common form of odalisque slave play today, however, is that of a married couple who have converted their marriage relationship to a Master/slave relationship, either on a part-time basis for fun or as a lifestyle. One of the most common requests we receive by email is from men asking for advice on how to "convert" their wife into an odalisque. What practical steps are necessary? How is it done?

Assuming, of course, that the wife is fully consenting, here are a few of the main things to consider:

*One of the main differences between a wife and an odalisque is that a wife has a range of domestic duties whereas an odalisque does not. Wives will often (or usually still) cook and clean and keep house.  If a wife is to become an odalisque she must be relieved of these duties so that she is free to devote herself to the odalisque's role. A simple way to do this is to hire a housekeeper. If a man hires a housekeeper then his wife is free of the burden of domestic chores. Then she can be put to those tasks typical of the odalisque, namely the provision of sexual pleasure. An odalisque is a pleasure slave. She is preserved from toil. First step, therefore, is to hire a maid and free your wife of domestic labour.

*Similarly, an odalisque should be free of the obligation to work in employment. Wives these days very often work jobs. For many couples this is a financial necessity. But an odalisque should not have to go to work. She is preserved from that form of toil too. A husband should therefore make whatever arrangements he can so that his wife/odalisque does not have to go out to work, or if she does, then only part-time. An odalisque lives in leisure. She should not have to work in a factory or waiting tables. She is a precious gift, and should be preserved from the drudgery of wage-slavery.

*An odalisque is not a companion. She is a sex slave. That is her purpose. It is not her purpose to keep her Master company on lonely evenings. Only some husband/wife relationships can be "converted" to a suitable Master/slave relation on this basis. Couples who are close companions and who do everything together are not suitable. Instead, a Slavekeeper under Code d' Odalisque is an independent man, while his slave is "kept for sex" as a sexual captive. He may go out to work all day. She remains at home in captivity. This will only work if the woman is home-loving. Some married couples - especially those who have been married a long time - live quite independently of each other. If so, that situation can be adapted to a Master/odalisque arrangement. If a couple are secure with each other and don't fret for constant companionship, it can work. The woman must enjoy being alone. The man can't depend on his wife for his social life.

*Usually, an odalisque does not sleep with her Master; she has her own room and her own bed. Again, many long-term married couples sleep in separate rooms. If so, it can be easily adapted to an odalisque arrangement. An odalisque has her own quarters, her "odella". The Master has his "saray" - his play room. Married couples should therefore make some appropriate architectural alterations. An odella for her. A saray for him. This is instead of the "marriage bed" being the centre of the relationship. If a married couple are inseparable and can't stand sleeping apart from each other, then it is unlikely there is enough distance between them to make an odalisque arrangement work. The Master/odalisque relation involves a different type of intimacy.

*Usually, odalisque slave play will involve additional people. The husband/wife relation is closed. Officially, it is "to the exclusion of all others." An odalisque, though, is for sharing. Not necessarily, but usually. There are few men who need an odalisque's services all to themselves. If, however, a married couple are "progressive" and have a history of swinging and other sexual adventures together - if they are already into sharing and swinging etc - then it bodes well for the odalisque lifestyle. Only highly-sexed couples, uninhibited couples with healthy sexual appetites and a rich erotic life, should attempt the odalisque lifestyle. There are many cases of monogamous odalisque lifestyles, but usually the simple fact of adopting a Master/slave role suits more adventurous couples who want to extend their erotic life and take it to new levels.

*Usually, odalisque slavery is limited tenure. A woman only remains an odalisque for a set period. This is because the odalisque role is intense. Couples should consider this. Ordinary slavery can be a low-key affair and a permanent way of life. Sexual slavery is much more intense. An odalisque can, and should, be put to good use. She is devoted to a life of fucking. Fucking is all she does. Often. Hard. Fast. Intense. Extreme. That is what an odalisque is for. Marriage is (in theory) a lifelong arrangement. Odalisque slavery is not.

*Marriages yield children. You cannot possibly conduct a Master/odalisque relationship if you have children at home. It is only for the childless or for couples whose children have grown up and left home. In the latter case, it should be said that Code d' Odalisque is perfect for "empty nesters" as they are called - couples whose children have left home and who are now looking for the rewards of the next childless phase of their life. Otherwise, children and Code d' Ode do not mix. Odalisque slave play is inherently sexual and adults only.