Contents

Sons
Slaves
Dogs
Dog slaves
Pigs (Septum)
Ponies
Other considerations

Caveat:

These are self defining individuals who have found a contenting form of expression that is more complete to them. An attempt is made here to define some of these terms and what it is that defines them this way.
The term boy refers to a submissive partner, regardless of age.

Based on text originally by Luke Owens

I've been hearing a lot about boys lately, but all in the same context, as though there were only one type of boy. I first became aware of this early in 1990, but the trend has, if anything, gotten worse.

The type of boy referred to all the time is a son; that is, a boy who has or is looking for a Daddy. For some reason, anything else is not considered a "boy" by most people, whether Top, bottom, or switch. Yet I have been a "boy" my entire adult life, though not a son.

I lived as a slave from 1978 to 1988; my former Master and I broke up three days before our tenth anniversary. To him, to our friends, and to myself, I was a boy; at least, that's what he called me, as did those people to whom such a calling was appropriate.

There are three types of boys that I know of: sons, slaves, and dogs. Presented here are short definitions of each, with an accent on the differences as well as the similarities.

The Son

The son is the newest type of boy. His ability to be a son to a Dad is owed entirely to the slaves, who pioneered "boyism", and the dogs.

A son is the only type of boy who is not owned by his Top, in this case, a Daddy or Dad (I prefer the latter appellation, as the former has certain negative connotations involving sexual favours in exchange for cash or other negotiable). A son may or may not live with his Dad; the Dad is not responsible for the son's food, clothing, housing, etc., or money. A Dad is, however, responsible for ensuring his son's education in one or more areas, usually at least two: sex play and one career-oriented field.

While the sex and sex play of a Dad and son may be similar to those of other types of roles, a son may say "no" to his Dad. While a Dad is responsible for his son's sexual education, the son is the one who sets the parameters thereof.

A son decides what kind of work he wants to do, where he will live and work, what to do with his leisure time apart from his Dad, and so on. If the son lives with his Dad, he may have certain chores to perform, but the Dad and son usually share in the upkeep of the home.

While it is possible for the Dad and son to remain in a stable relationship for their entire lives, a main focus of the relationship seems to be preparing the son to become a Dad himself some day (I say "A main focus", as that is definitely not THE main focus of any type of sexual/romantic relationship).

The Slave

Slaves are the original boys. That is, slaves were the first bottoms to be called boys and continue to be boys to this day. Without the slaves, the dogs and sons would not have a basis for their lives. Given my experience, this is obviously the role I know best.

In contrast to the son, the slave is the property of his Master. He lives where the Master wants him to, works at the job the Master wants him to, eats, wears, does everything the Master wants him to. A variation on this is the slave who is well established in a career, in which case the Master may allow the slave to continue the career path chosen prior to their relationship. Either is acceptable, so long as both parties involved agree to them. The term boy refers to a submissive partner, regardless of age.

And there is the heart of any SM/leather-oriented relationship: consensuality. The specific parameters must be agreed upon before the relationship begins. I, for example, will not get involved with a Master who wants me to give up my career. That will be a part of any arrangement I make.

The slave may be required to sign his entire paycheque over to the Master or not, depending upon the Master's wishes. If this option is chosen by the Master, however, he should ensure that the slave will never suffer financial difficulty, as no relationship lasts forever on this planet; whether through the Master's death or other cause, the relationship will end eventually.

Generally, a slave will live with his Master, although not necessarily sleep with him. Some slaves live separately from their Masters for all or part of the relationship's length; others not only live with their Masters, they sleep with them the majority of the time. Again, this is something the Master usually decides, although it is normally discussed prior to the inception of the relationship.

If the slave is required or allowed to work outside the home, the Master may decide what field the slave will work in and what specific place of employment he will apply to (But see above; this is only the case where the slave has given the Master that right prior to beginning the relationship). The Master decides what the slave will wear (usually nothing at home, in the case of most Masters and slaves of my acquaintance), eat, etc. The only decisions a slave makes are those involving how best to serve his Master's interests and those negotiated beforehand.

The Master is in charge of sex and sex play (sex is actual sucking and fucking; sex play is SM, BD, WS, etc.; they may or may not be combined), not just what and how, but also when. The slave does not initiate either unless given prior permission by the Master, usually as a reward for good behaviour. All aspects of the slave's sexual life are governed by his Master. The Master can loan, rent, or otherwise temporarily divest himself of the slave, setting whatever limits are appropriate to the person(s) he is granting temporary authority to. The slave may or may not know of these limits, at the Master's option.

The only education for which the Master is responsible is that of the slave learning to be the best slave possible and his own education in how best to be a Master (this is normally taken care of prior to looking for a slave in the first place, although not always).

The slave is responsible for all duties in the home, including yard work. If he doesn't know how to do something, it is his responsibility to let the Master know so that he can be taught. The Master may, at his own option, decide to assist the slave or to do the job himself, but the slave may only ask for help when the job is too big or unfamiliar to do by himself. The slave does not decide what needs to be done outside of his orders and experience; if he sees that something he has done before needs to be done, he does it automatically. If he sees something he hasn't done, he waits on his Master's orders, although he may point it out to the Master if he deems it important (for example, if he sees that a piece of equipment in the Master's garage is about to lose a part that could cause the Master to lose a hand).

The slave has no rights, no property, and only those privileges granted to him by his Master. His only duty is to please his Master; this requires many different talents and skills, as most Masters want someone to keep house for them as well as keep them sexually and sadistically satisfied.

While some slaves, especially those in part time or temporary relationships, are studying to become Masters themselves some day (one study indicates that most slaves are of this type), others will remain slaves until the day they die, whether they have a Master or not. The lucky ones will have Masters at all times; others will experience one or two such relationships and have to settle for another type after that. One only becomes a slave by entering into a Master/slave relationship in that role; after that, the boy is automatically a slave until death or desired role change.

The main focus of this relationship is fulfilling the Master's needs and desires. Stable relationships of this type are possible, but only if both (or all) members are happy and comfortable in their roles.

The Dog

This is the second oldest type of boy to come into existence. It is also the oddest, being merely a variation of the slave, yet having a life all its own. There are other types of animals used in this relationship, but the dog is the most common; the horse is second most common, but there are nowhere near as many horses as dogs(Dogboy/Dogslave).

A dog is a boy who lives his life to a greater or lesser extent as a dog.
There are a number of levels here, from a boy who has canine expression, to full blown family pet. Likewise there may or may not be a SM content, hence the use of dogslave and dogboy to help differentiate. An additional complication is AlphaDog, the topdog. In a pack you have a lead dog that is top to all the others, except to the human. Then (like my owner) he has a big doggy streak, but he is a sadist, and not one to submit, bit like romping with a Timber Wolf I guess.

The most extreme dog role perception I have come across is the one where the slaves tongue is damaged so he can only really bark to communicate, his legs and pelvic were broken to facilitate doggy posture and the need to walk on all fours.

Spotting a dogboy

When a guy comes onto you and his 'natural' expression is nuzzling, licking, whimpering - these are all give away signs. He might not have self-identified that he is canine yet. However if is responds to praise like 'good boy', scratching the back of his neck, keeping him on the floor, control via a leather collar and leash, eating a meal from a dish on the floor, then you know you are onto a winner.

Once a guy has self identified as canine, then there is the process to determine the scope of this doggy streak, is the dog going to recognise that at one extreme he is going to give up human speech and transpose into the role set out below, or is he just going to have the basics:
Dog dish feeding,
Canine expression,
Owners dog chain around his neck,
Sleeps on the floor,
mostly naked except for his dog chain. If he has clothes, then this might include Chastity shorts, to stop your mutt playing with himself when he does not have permission, he may also have leather fist-mitts/paws to control the use of his hands to more dog like things.

On piercings
any Animal boy would benefit from a Septum piercing, as this will make him feel more animal, especially when the Master/Owner knows how to use it, others include the slaves Prince Albert in his cock, let alone great cums, there is nothing quite like it when you Master leads you my your sex, even in a club he can touch your PA through your jeans and get a good reaction out of you. Not everyone is into piericings, but if there were a shopping list for an slave, then his septum, PA and tits would be required - all of the slaves that I have owned have had this, and not regretted it once.

The dog "speaks" in barks and growls, he wears no clothing other than a collar, he lives with his Owner (usually called a "Master", but for the purposes of this article, I want to point up the differences by using a different word), he eats dog food from a dish on the floor, he does not work outside the home and probably not inside the home, etc. Sex and sex play may or may not enter into this type of relationship, and always at the Owner's option.

In this type of relationship, the Owner makes all the decisions, period. The only decision the dog makes is whether or not to enter into the relationship in the first place. The dog is subject to obedience training at all times and in any situation. He is simply no longer human once he has decided to become a dog. While there may be times (as when outsiders are present) that the dog may be allowed or ordered to act as a human being, by and large he does not.
At the end of the day, he always knows what he is, an animal, a beautiful dog slave, their to be owned and used. The poor bitch is naked without a dog tag and chain locked on his neck, a stray, hardly an animal without one, and yet a good Master can spot the animal within.
No matter what or where he is in life, his core is K9, animal slave, his only home in a cage or securely chained sleeping at the foot of his Masters bed, his place the floor feeding from his dish or off the floor itself. It is cruel to expect the dog to eat with a knife and fork, to make him human, for that is not what he is.

See Care and training of the male slave for more info.

The only time this becomes a problem is in the event of the Owner's death. A good Owner will ensure that the dog will not have any problems with living after his death, but that may be in the nature of securing a new Owner for the dog rather than financial arrangements. Either way, these arrangements should be made as soon as it becomes clear that the relationship is viable.

The only other problem here is a minor one: a dog's Owner should have a large, fenced-in back yard, unless he is willing to allow the dog come out of role and use the toilet. This is not the type of dog you can walk naked down Main Street, after all.

These types of relationships can be the most stable of all, as long as the boy has a true need or desire to live as a dog. I would suggest a trial period of a year or so as a test of the sincerity of the boy's desire.

Other Considerations

There are some considerations that are common to all three types of boy. For example, health is a primary issue, especially in these days of AIDS. While a son is usually allowed to gauge his own state of health, the slave and dog usually are not. Therefore, the Master and Owner must be constantly aware of the health of their slaves and dogs. An ill slave cannot serve as effectively as a healthy one; a healthy dog is more playful and obedient than a sick one.

One of the differences between the three types of boy is the use of furniture. The son is usually allowed to use his Dad's furniture; the slave may or may not have the privilege; the dog usually is not allowed on the furniture (other than the bed during sex). Again, though, these options are usually up to the Top in the relationship.

Finally, there is the question of multiple relationships. I know of several instances where a Top has more than one boy, sometimes more than one type of boy. I know of one Top who has several sons, a slave, and a dog; additionally, one of his sons has a dog of his own. In such a situation, the Top must always remain perfectly clear of the nature of his relationship with each boy; confusion is not always possible to avoid, but it is necessary to try.

I know that not everyone will agree with everything I have said; in fact, I am certain that a number of people will automatically disagree with the whole piece, some on the grounds that a boy should not write something like this in the first place. This just points up the differences between individuals. I have tried to write a general piece about the different types of boys of which I am aware; while I have gone into some specifics, I am aware that most, if not all, of those are decided in the negotiation process prior to starting a relationship.

Most of the point I have been trying to make in this article is that slaves and dogs are boys, too, and that those of us who are not sons should not be summarily dismissed from the status we have worked hard to achieve and which most of us feel to be the best title that we can be accorded: boys.
Note: This article was written some time ago, at the request of the editor of 'Scene', the official newsletter for Vancouver Activists in SM (VASM). My life has changed dramatically since the time it was written; now, instead of being a slave, I own some slaves. I decided to let the article stand as originally written, however, for two reasons: One, it was written by someone who thought of himself as a boy at the time, and two, you never know...I might still meet the Master who could put me back in a collar (but I'm not giving up breathing or sex until I do!). Anyway, enjoy and e-mail me if you have any comments.

So what of Dog, Dogslaves and Slaves

By TopDog

The above article covers them in isolation. There are those who just want to be a Dog or just a slave. The Dog has no human qualities, these have been expunged, where as the Dogboy has some human qualities, but these are not SM orientated, the Dog Slave as the SM parts.
For example you would not leave your dog hog-tied, but could do this to a dogslave, a dog boy would not be bound, he may have punishment only as an exception, a swift rap over the nose with a rolled up newspaper, or a shape resounding NO! should be enough. Not so for the dogslave. Like wise the time of correction is there and then, the dog has no notion of a 'punishment book' where all his 'crimes' are recorded along with punishments given. This is something that the slave part might look forward to.
There are a number of kinds of dog, Stray, Pet through to Working Dog, Guard Dog. Additional animal boy profile. They each have a set of needs which are addressed differently.

The Pig

A slave/submissive into shit, piss dirt and filth - likes/requires to be treated like the dirty farm animal or the sewer rat that he is.
Shit/filth scenes are said to demonstrate the utter devotion to the Master (i will even do this - the most repulsive extreme that i can imagine), like what more can i do to demonstrate my devotion, i have done everything else.

However there are shit scenes totally devoid of any SM or power play, though it is likely that his head space is in a very dirty place, in a image that might be his future, or one that is not physically possible - yet satisfied the "feeling".

Visually he may have a zero crop (yet aggressive bonehead skins do), and a septum piercing (this one really makes a difference - get one), some may even have "pig" tattooed on the inside bottom lip.
When you are really happy with what you are you can make more permanent expressions on your boys - stronger that having the words "pig", "filth" written with shit on your body - yet all things change, take the ring out for a few days, you won't get it back in again, a tattoo is different.

The Pony

A slave/submissive that likes to be treated like a creature of burden, feeling the weight of his Master upon him, and the feel of control to the 'bit' in his mouth.