Oh, the shame of it all...
"I never learned hate at home, or shame. I had to go to school for that." - Dick Gregory
Recently there have been a number of conversations come up discussing humiliation and shame in the Dominant submissive lifestyle, and I don't mean as a fetish or form of play. I have always worked under the philosophy that if you are ashamed of what you are doing, then you are doing the wrong thing for you.
"Pride attaches undue importance to the superiority of one's status in the eyes of others; And shame is fear of humiliation at one's inferior status in the estimation of others. When one sets his heart on being highly esteemed, and achieves such rating, then he is automatically involved in fear of losing his status." - Lao Tzu
One person came in a chat room talking about how the slave shows her ownership by the shame she feels when she has to admit she is owned. Excuse me? If you slave is ashamed to be owned by you, that speaks volumes to me about your worth as a dominant. I have also read several things lately about people being ashamed to come out to their friends or family. When did it become shameful to be who you really are?
"I used to look in the mirror and feel shame, I look in the mirror now and I absolutely love myself." - Drew Barrymore
Maybe I am wired differently than many, or maybe this "new" era of the lifestyle is one people should be ashamed of, but I know I am not ashamed of how I live, nor would I want to be.
"The secret of how to live without resentment or embarrassment in a world in which I was different from everyone else. was to be indifferent to that difference." - Al Capp
