by Master Bishop
If you ask ten different slaves what subspace is, chances are good
that you will get ten different answers. And that’s because
subspace is truly an individual experience that can be created
through slave training, but is hard to define.
One of the main concerns with subspace is that because the
definition is so vague, it’s hard to tell when and if it actually
occurs. Some people believe it’s a physical response, while others
think that it’s an emotional change. In any case, sometimes
hindering yourself with such a definition can cause more problems
with achieving this state.
Still others think that you have to have subspace in order to ‘win’
as a Dominant, but this is not the case. Though you do want to
create a feeling in your slave that they are moving out of the pain
of punishment or the feeling that they are being objectified, just
because they don’t hit this subspace ‘ideal’ doesn’t mean that the
slave training has not worked or has not been successful.
Subspace is a collection of things, depending on who you ask. For
some, it’s the sensation of being out of the body and away from the
events that are going on. This detachment from the body causes the
slave to be able to ‘take’ more pain and more verbal attacks from a
Dominant, often also resulting in the slave complying with every
wish without hesitation or without any resistance. The slave is
sort of a ‘super slave’ at this point – able to do everything that
their Dominant wishes of them.
Another idea is that subspace is the point at which the body begins
to produce endorphins in order to fend off physical pain. This
rush of chemicals in the body makes the slave feel good and allows
them to forget about anything that might be uncomfortable. Their
brains are telling them that all is right with the world. This
feeling can continue from the scene into the moments and hours
after the scene is over.
Whether subspace is purely an emotional reaction to a scene due to
its intensity or a physical one, the obvious question is how you
can use it in slave training situations. Not only does this
mindset allow the slave to endure more from the Dominant, but it
also feels good, so it’s clear that once you ‘give’ this to a slave
during a scene, they will work actively to recreate that feeling.
This might mean that they need the Dominant to continuously build
the intensity of their work together or that they need to focus
more on overcoming sensations that might not be pleasant at first
in order to move into that subspace realm.
In any case, subspace is something that is worth trying to create
in a scene. This can be done by preparations by both the Dominant
and the slave. The Dominant can increase the chance of this
situation by watching the reactions of the slave during a scene to
see how much more they can take and when they are entering a
different mindset. Once they have begun to enter subspace, they
can then begin to push the scene further to enhance the training.
The slave that wants to achieve subspace should be ready to work
through any initial resistance to their training in order to move
into this other space. This might mean mentally preparing
themselves or simply breathing through pain that they might feel.
Subspace is something that may not be achieved by everyone, but
since it is such a hot topic in BDSM, it’s obvious that it’s
something that might be possible.
