Common Positions
- Stand - Standing with feet shoulder width apart, back straight, head forward and eyes lowered. Hands are most usually clasped behind the back. In public, eyes forward so as not to draw attention to the position. "Present standing" - hands behind neck.
- Kneel - Kneel in place, back straight, ass resting on heels, hands behind back, head bowed and eyes down. In pulic, she kneels in such a way as not not draw attention to herself, as if no chair were available.
- Kneel up - Kneeling, knees shoulder width apart, back straight, head forward and eyes lowered. Hands are most usually clasped behind the back. "Present kneeling" would move hands behind the neck.
- Kneel down - Kneeling, knees shoulder width apart with toes touching, forehead on the ground, cushioned by hands.
- Present - Making the body available to the Dominant in a pre-arranged way. The Dominant generally points to a piece of furniture (meaning present bending over it) or to the floor (meaning present in a kneel down position). "Present on your back" would tell the submissive to lie on her back with knees up and legs spread wide, hands above the head. If standing, the submissive stands, feet shoulder width apart, back straight, hands behind back, left wrist in right hand, head bowed and eyes down.
- Rest - The submissive assumes whatever resting posture the Dominant prefers. This is commonly a sitting or kneeling position that the submissive is able to maintain for long periods of time.
- Serve - food or beverage is served with the right knee down, left leg bent, left elbow on left knee, right elbow in left palm, serving from the right hand.
- Inspection –the submissive goes to the center of the room and stands facing away from the door, or away from her Dominant if He is in the room. She spreads her legs as far apart as is possible while maintaining good balance, places her hands behind her neck and keeps her head straight and eyes forward.
Protocol Shifts
The protocols contained here are for Mid Protocol interactions, in places where it will not draw undue or unwelcome attention to the uniqueness of the Dominant/submissive relationship.
Low Protocol should be used when in the presence of vanilla observers. During this time:
- The submissive will refer to her Dominant as "Sir" when possible, and by His given name if Sir seems inappropriate for some reason.
- The submissive will not kneel unless ordered to do so, but may sit on the floor if it would not draw attention.
- If the submissive uses furniture, she will do so by sitting as close to her Dominant as possible and making her body accessible to Him as much as possible.
- The submissive may serve her Dominant as a waitress might, rather than from a kneeling position.
- Mid Protocols are in place wherever possible, but should be acted on with as much discretion as is possible.
High Protocol – will be used at her Dominant’s discretion and will be put into place by a prearranged signal or word from her Dominant at any time.
- The submissive positions herself slightly behind her Dominant on His dominant side (unless given orders to the contrary) and remains there unless ordered otherwise. If ordered to stand or kneel elsewhere, she keeps her head bowed and eyes down, only keeping her Dominant in her peripheral view, so as to be able to respond immediately if He summons her. She may adjust her location only to keep Him in her line of site.
- If approached in conversation, she will only say, "Forgive me Sir/Ma’am, I am forbidden to speak. My Master is standing/sitting there" and indicate His location.
- The submissive will always use as few words as possible to respond when given permission to do so and will begin and end each sentence with "Sir".
- The submissive performs any service quietly and efficiently, drawing as little attention to her service as possible.
In Old Guard settings, submissives traditionally wear black or white t-shirts, jeans or leather shorts, white socks if any, black boots (laced right over left) or other black shoes.
A submissive wishing to be recognized by a Dominant, or group will stand about three feet away, just outside the circle of conversation, assume standing "public present" position and wait to be recognized. Only then will they approach and speak. A submissive who has greeted a Dominant in this manner will normally wait to be dismissed before leaving, or if she is expected back quickly, will explain, "Forgive me Sir, i am expected back" and wait for dismissal. A bow of the head to show respect is proper. Backing a few steps away before turning is also proper.
A submissive should not speak to another submissive who is in the company of her Dominant without permission to do so. This is not well observed in pansexual circles. The proper respect is to gain recognition, greet the Dominant and ask if she might greet his submissive. Dominants do not usually acknowledge the submissive of another Dominant unless they have a prior acquaintance with her. Dominants may or my not introduce their submissives, as pleases them and the circumstance. If they do introduce them, it is usually by first name only.
Chain collars are indicative of Master/slave relationships while leather collars are more common for D/s relationships. Pet tags may indicate pet status. Flagging is still common in gay communities, left for Dominant or Top, right for submissive or bottom. Colors are plentiful; there is a legend on my information page, if you are interested. Most commonly seen are black (Sm top or bottom), mustard (hung 8"+ or wants one), orange (anything goes), hunter green (daddy/boy), and most recently black/white checked (safe sex).
Speech
Honorifics should be used as such, not as names. As a rule, a Dominant whose scene name, for instance is "Master Greg", would be introduced by that entire name, but would be called "Greg" by other Dominants, "Master Greg" or "Sir" by other submissives, and "Master" only by his own submissive. A Dominant introducing his submissive to this Dominant would introduce him as "Master Greg" so that the submissive would have the correct information.
Dominants will specify the way in which their submissives will address them, such as "Sir", "M’Lord" or "Master". Honorifics can be as complex as the Dominant wishes, and many times are structured in complex ways to test the submissive and keep her on her toes. They may or may not include a name or a scene name. Occasionally, a Dominant will have his submissive call him by a given name, because it is difficult for most trained submissives not to use "Sir" and they use it as an exercise in obedience. This is often mistaken for disrespect, however, and is therefore rare.
The term "voice trained" is often used to describe a submissive who has been trained to speak only when spoken to and to not betray her preferences in her answers. A variation includes Dominants who have their submissives say "If it pleases you Sir" when they are in agreement and "Only if it pleases you Sir" to indicate the opposite view. They believe that this gives the appearance of neutrality while giving the Dominant information about the preference. I personally disagree with this practice and deem it game playing.
High Protocol parties in Denver generally include a rule that submissives do not speak without permission. Permission is gained by a pre-determined signal. In discussions, submissives do not participate. They may speak only to their own Dominants. House protocols never take priority over personal protocols.
Food and Drink Service
A hostess submissive will serve her Dominant first, the Master of the House second and other Dominants as is convenient to the setting. She will then serve the Master of the House’s submissive, and then the other submissives in as close to the same order as their Dominants were served.
A submissive being served will either 1) accept food and drink on behalf of their Dominant and serve him themselves, or 2) wait quietly while he is served.
In a vanilla setting such as a restaurant, the submissive will not eat or drink until their Dominant has done so. Dominants will normally defer to the host in like manner. When the Dominant is finished eating, the submissive stops unless signaled by her Dominant to finish her meal.
For a more in-depth discussion of Formal Dinner Service, click here
Other Service
A Dominant will not request service of an accompanied submissive without first asking her Dominant to allow it. An unattended submissive may be requested to provide simple service, or fetch and carry at will, unless she is in a non-communicative protocol.
Service should be carried out as quickly, quietly and seamlessly as possible. Service that draws attention to itself is in bad taste.
Personal Service
Personal service is normally reserved for one’s Dominant, unless offered to another by one’s Dominant. A Dominant that requests personal service without consulting one’s Dominant may be told, "I’m sorry Sir, that is not allowed" and referred to the submissive's Dominant for further discussion.
Master's Responsibility
The Master is responsible for setting the Protocol level and any individual protocols that He desires. But, He has another important responsibility; that of protecting His slave. He should constantly be aware of her. If she is approached by someone that she doesn't have permission to interract with, she should be given a specific way to handle the situation. In Old Guard trained slaves, you will most often hear "Forgive me Sir. i am not permitted to speak. My Master **** stands there. In many current protocols, the slave will be instructed to simply look down at the floor and ignore the contact completely. In this instance, the Master must be extremely aware and ready to intervene as soon as He observes this reaction.
Another common instruction that a slave may be given an instruction that she should come up into a formal present posture in order to get her Master's attention (in order to make a request or ask to speak). If this is the case, He must see it and respond.
Return to Menu
Low Protocol should be used when in the presence of vanilla observers. During this time:
- The submissive will refer to her Dominant as "Sir" when possible, and by His given name if Sir seems inappropriate for some reason.
- The submissive will not kneel unless ordered to do so, but may sit on the floor if it would not draw attention.
- If the submissive uses furniture, she will do so by sitting as close to her Dominant as possible and making her body accessible to Him as much as possible.
- The submissive may serve her Dominant as a waitress might, rather than from a kneeling position.
- Mid Protocols are in place wherever possible, but should be acted on with as much discretion as is possible.
- The submissive positions herself slightly behind her Dominant on His dominant side (unless given orders to the contrary) and remains there unless ordered otherwise. If ordered to stand or kneel elsewhere, she keeps her head bowed and eyes down, only keeping her Dominant in her peripheral view, so as to be able to respond immediately if He summons her. She may adjust her location only to keep Him in her line of site.
- If approached in conversation, she will only say, "Forgive me Sir/Ma’am, I am forbidden to speak. My Master is standing/sitting there" and indicate His location.
- The submissive will always use as few words as possible to respond when given permission to do so and will begin and end each sentence with "Sir".
- The submissive performs any service quietly and efficiently, drawing as little attention to her service as possible.
A submissive wishing to be recognized by a Dominant, or group will stand about three feet away, just outside the circle of conversation, assume standing "public present" position and wait to be recognized. Only then will they approach and speak. A submissive who has greeted a Dominant in this manner will normally wait to be dismissed before leaving, or if she is expected back quickly, will explain, "Forgive me Sir, i am expected back" and wait for dismissal. A bow of the head to show respect is proper. Backing a few steps away before turning is also proper.
A submissive should not speak to another submissive who is in the company of her Dominant without permission to do so. This is not well observed in pansexual circles. The proper respect is to gain recognition, greet the Dominant and ask if she might greet his submissive. Dominants do not usually acknowledge the submissive of another Dominant unless they have a prior acquaintance with her. Dominants may or my not introduce their submissives, as pleases them and the circumstance. If they do introduce them, it is usually by first name only.
Chain collars are indicative of Master/slave relationships while leather collars are more common for D/s relationships. Pet tags may indicate pet status. Flagging is still common in gay communities, left for Dominant or Top, right for submissive or bottom. Colors are plentiful; there is a legend on my information page, if you are interested. Most commonly seen are black (Sm top or bottom), mustard (hung 8"+ or wants one), orange (anything goes), hunter green (daddy/boy), and most recently black/white checked (safe sex).
Speech
Honorifics should be used as such, not as names. As a rule, a Dominant whose scene name, for instance is "Master Greg", would be introduced by that entire name, but would be called "Greg" by other Dominants, "Master Greg" or "Sir" by other submissives, and "Master" only by his own submissive. A Dominant introducing his submissive to this Dominant would introduce him as "Master Greg" so that the submissive would have the correct information.
Dominants will specify the way in which their submissives will address them, such as "Sir", "M’Lord" or "Master". Honorifics can be as complex as the Dominant wishes, and many times are structured in complex ways to test the submissive and keep her on her toes. They may or may not include a name or a scene name. Occasionally, a Dominant will have his submissive call him by a given name, because it is difficult for most trained submissives not to use "Sir" and they use it as an exercise in obedience. This is often mistaken for disrespect, however, and is therefore rare.
The term "voice trained" is often used to describe a submissive who has been trained to speak only when spoken to and to not betray her preferences in her answers. A variation includes Dominants who have their submissives say "If it pleases you Sir" when they are in agreement and "Only if it pleases you Sir" to indicate the opposite view. They believe that this gives the appearance of neutrality while giving the Dominant information about the preference. I personally disagree with this practice and deem it game playing.
High Protocol parties in Denver generally include a rule that submissives do not speak without permission. Permission is gained by a pre-determined signal. In discussions, submissives do not participate. They may speak only to their own Dominants. House protocols never take priority over personal protocols.
Food and Drink Service
A hostess submissive will serve her Dominant first, the Master of the House second and other Dominants as is convenient to the setting. She will then serve the Master of the House’s submissive, and then the other submissives in as close to the same order as their Dominants were served.
A submissive being served will either 1) accept food and drink on behalf of their Dominant and serve him themselves, or 2) wait quietly while he is served.
In a vanilla setting such as a restaurant, the submissive will not eat or drink until their Dominant has done so. Dominants will normally defer to the host in like manner. When the Dominant is finished eating, the submissive stops unless signaled by her Dominant to finish her meal.
For a more in-depth discussion of Formal Dinner Service, click here
Other Service
A Dominant will not request service of an accompanied submissive without first asking her Dominant to allow it. An unattended submissive may be requested to provide simple service, or fetch and carry at will, unless she is in a non-communicative protocol.
Service should be carried out as quickly, quietly and seamlessly as possible. Service that draws attention to itself is in bad taste.
Personal Service
Personal service is normally reserved for one’s Dominant, unless offered to another by one’s Dominant. A Dominant that requests personal service without consulting one’s Dominant may be told, "I’m sorry Sir, that is not allowed" and referred to the submissive's Dominant for further discussion.
Master's Responsibility
The Master is responsible for setting the Protocol level and any individual protocols that He desires. But, He has another important responsibility; that of protecting His slave. He should constantly be aware of her. If she is approached by someone that she doesn't have permission to interract with, she should be given a specific way to handle the situation. In Old Guard trained slaves, you will most often hear "Forgive me Sir. i am not permitted to speak. My Master **** stands there. In many current protocols, the slave will be instructed to simply look down at the floor and ignore the contact completely. In this instance, the Master must be extremely aware and ready to intervene as soon as He observes this reaction.
Another common instruction that a slave may be given an instruction that she should come up into a formal present posture in order to get her Master's attention (in order to make a request or ask to speak). If this is the case, He must see it and respond.
Return to Menu
A submissive being served will either 1) accept food and drink on behalf of their Dominant and serve him themselves, or 2) wait quietly while he is served.
In a vanilla setting such as a restaurant, the submissive will not eat or drink until their Dominant has done so. Dominants will normally defer to the host in like manner. When the Dominant is finished eating, the submissive stops unless signaled by her Dominant to finish her meal.
For a more in-depth discussion of Formal Dinner Service, click here