So, something interesting happened yesterday. I posted a caption in the style of a fake magazine article; it was a response to a caption describing an undercover volunteer efforts to unearth poor conditions in slave holding cells. This caption was set in a world in where slavery was an acceptable way of dealing with prisoners of war or other miscreants.
When I got home from work that night, I found two messages in my inbox. One from the guy who wrote the original caption; he loved my response so much he wanted to post it on his slavery-kink Yahoo groups. The second was from a reader who has given me permission to post his comment anonymously:
Dude, actual slavery? Most of what I’ve seen of your writing is pretty hot but submitting in a consensual setting is one thing and human trafficking and rights abuse is another. Granted what you wrote isn’t bad like op or his blog, which I mistakenly clicked on, but yeah. Sorry just…yeah.
I just wanted to address this for a moment. When most people read my stories on my Tumblr about men dominating other men, controlling their lives, their sex drives, their cocks, their bodies, etc, I am assuming you assume the situation in the caption is consensual and no one receives psychological trauma as a result. Also, every single of you probably assume every photo reblogged on Tumblr is up there with the model’s consent. Cause, it’s icky otherwise and spoils the hotness factor. This is a really thin line.
Anyone who has ever considered a specific kink or fetish or lifestyle will tell you that fantasizing about it and making it real are two very different things. Hence, why sometimes people read or write about kinks online and never practice them in real life. Sometimes it’s just not possible to replicate in real life. Sometimes the sexual thrill comes from how forbidden/impossible it is. And there’s a time to acknowledge that, maybe beat off to it, then put it aside as fiction and move on to a more logical reality.
Just because I wrote that caption about slavery, it doesn’t mean I condone or approve of forced slavery. I rarely ever write about that kink just because of all the grey area. A small portion of what I write, I write because the readers like it, not because I’m sitting here masturbating furiously. I tried something new and it didn’t work. It happens.
Also, If you noticed, I dated the fake magazine article in the future. Maybe something happens in the future that results in that system being put into place. Maybe Jack is a product of an environment that thought slavery was OK, and maybe Jack triggers a revolution that helps break down and destroy instituted slavery for more humane options. Who knows. I haven’t even bothered to address that selling prisoners of war into slavery is probably a big ol’ violation of the Geneva Convention. That caption was a moment in fictitious time when a whistleblower took action. That’s all.
Although we like to think of ourselves as progressive humans, there are now more slaves than ever. This is not OK, and never will be OK. Writing a short caption to something I found on Tumblr is in no way condoning non-consensual slavery, and should not be mistaken for such. That caption was a moment in fictitious time when a whistleblower took action.
Sorry if I offended anyone. Also should be noted that I did not read the original poster’s Tumblr before reblogging that caption.