Many times there are questions of the difference between a sub and a slave. The following will try to explain each as simply as possible. I will use ‘she’ for sub/slave as I explain and he for the Dominant for simplicity’s sake.

Submission As a sub there is a broad range of submission that you can fit into and still be a sub. You and your Dominant may be completely satisfied with your submission beginning and ending at the bedroom door so to speak. On the other end of the spectrum, you are submissive to the Dominant in and out of the bedroom. At the heart of submission is the choice to submit and the option to say “No”. The submissive decides how much control she will give to her Dominant and what aspects of her life she will surrender to the Dominant’s command. Submissive power exchange is about choice: about the option to decide how one feels about a demand and what one is going to do about it. At any point that the sub is not comfortable with this arrangement, it is within her rights to say “No, I’m not going to do that”, and this becomes a signal to the couple that they need to renegotiate something. It does not completely destroy the power dynamic between them .A submissive chooses to submit and has the option to say “no” to a Dominant’s command.

Slavery How, then, does consensual slavery differ from submission? First and foremost, slavery hinges upon a commitment to obedience. The slave does not revisit issues such as “should I submit?” or “How do I feel about that? Will I say yes or no?” When a Dominant order is issued, whether or not the slave agrees with it, she is obedient in the same manner that a soldier is who in the Army

Secondly, in consensual slavery a person gives themselves over to the control of another as completely as is humanly possible. This means a high degree of obedience. This is where many of the people in the lifestyle have a split in opinions about slaves. Many say that the slave must live with or near their Master – ready to serve at any time. (This does take in consideration kids and work.)Many do not believe that a slave can live with even a vanilla mate. They cannot serve online as a slave because, simply put, you are not available at all times for the Master. You can say that you are doing something he commands and not really be doing it…it is role-play in many lifestylers eyes. I am not here to settle that argument or even give my opinion either way on it. This decision is between you and your Dominant.

Simply put, while both slaves and submissives are often fondly referred to as “property”, in the sense of consensual slavery the slave becomes literally (by mutual agreement) the property of the Owner. A slave commits to obey. A “No” from a slave is a terminal deal-breaker in a way that it is not for a submissive.~kayngel Hatcher~