Inside a Rogue's Mind

January/February 2003

Inside a Rogue's Mind

by Rogue

The Term Master

Every time I turn around, I hear this word. Her master, his master, my master, and so on. Some people even call all dominants "master" and it always makes me think about a few things. Like, what is a "master" and who really qualifies? To many, just saying you are a master makes you one and I have to disagree.

If someone spends all their time in a chat room online and has never played in real time, are they really a master? If someone has only been actively involved in BDSM for a year, are they really a master? If all someone has done is read about technique, but never actually done a scene, are they really a master? Well, I have to admit, I do not think so.

To get a masters in education, one must go to graduate school after obtaining a bachelor's degree. To be considered a master in martial arts, one must train for many years and reach a determined level of skill. Mastery, in itself, means that one has the knowledge and skills of a subject.

So does that make everyone that says they are a master really a master?

Well, some will quote that a master is anyone that owns a slave or has control of another person. I disagree. Anyone that owns a slave is an owner. Anyone that has control of another can be a top, dominant, sadist ... or even your boss, a parent, etc. Does that automatically make these people masters? No.

A master is not just someone that owns a slave or has control of another person. A master also possesses the skills and knowledge to teach, guide, and train others. A master has a lot of experience. And anyone that does not have those things but says they are a master, in my opinion, are deceiving others and themselves.

I can say I am a doctor, but it does not make me one. Master SoandSo can say he is a master, but it does not automatically make him one. Yet ego, and for many BDSM Romper Room silliness, tend to encourage some to claim they are something they are not. Because many feel that there is some sort of hierarchy within the BDSM community, making one label better than another, many claim to be something they are not just to be "better." Due to the BDSM Romper Room bullshit we find online, many are expected to automatically be something they are not just to fit in.

There is no hierarchy, people. It does not matter if you are a bottom, sadist, slave, or mistress. Not one is better than the other. Not one means that you are somehow superior or inferior. And BDSM Romper Room bullshit is just that ... bullshit.

So, be who you are. Whether it be top, dominant, master, masochist, bondage bunny, or slave. And be truthful about who you are, what you are, and what your experience and knowledge really is.

And while that might not make you a master in one sense of the word, it will make you a master at being you.