Token Child

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Ownership

To have or hold as property. To possess. One or ones belonging to oneself or itself.

Possession

To bring or cause to fall under the influence or control of.

Guardian

One who has the care of the person or property of another.

Slave

A person who has lost control of himself and is dominated by something or someone. A drudge - one who is forced to do hard, menial, and monotonous work.

There are those who blur and skew the meanings of things to bring about or suit their own needs or ends. Within the BDSM community, we often accept simple words without delving into the truth of what those words may or can mean. Sometimes it becomes crucial to step back and take a hard look at what can be a grotesque and ugly business.

BDSM and the D/s community are not about the enslavement, true slavery, or ownership of one person by another. The action of forced control or creation and usage of a drudge is the non-voluntary, nonconsensual violation of moral, ethical, spiritual, and legal rights of the individual.

A Dominant does not own as property the submissive they bond to or collar. The submissive can and may give the illusion of this ownership to the Dominant by freely and voluntarily agreeing to and accepting the direction of the Dominant's wishes and desires. However, true possession of the 'self' of the submissive remains intrinsically their own. Should this possession cease, then the submissive could not offer voluntary consent and must therefore be considered a non-voluntary victim of the usage or abuse of the Dominant. In other words, true self-possession must exist for a submissive to be able to offer consent!

A Dominant may assume the role of Guardian of the well-being of the submissive who so offers this language to that Dominant. The submissive within the relationship is not a drudge as defined above. A submissive can and may be possessed by a Dominant, though in the precise definition, 'to fall' implies a non-voluntary action, which again negates the consensual aspects of submission itself.

Ownership implies that one may do 'anything' to the object under their control or 'ownership'. A human being cannot do 'anything' to another human being, regardless of the professed consent of the individual to that action. Therefore, it is impossible to 'own' a human being. It is possible for a human being to conditionally sell or give portions of their own time, energy, and usage within certain legal, moral, and ethical constraints. The most overt demonstration of this sale is the bartered exchange of 'work' by one human for the collection of money or goods in exchange for that work. Some people consider marriage to be another example of the exchange of time, energy, affection, and money in the expectation of receiving like in kind from their partner.

Within the community, we commonly use the terms ownership and slavery. The community meanings of these words are vastly different from the true definitions above. A Dominant does not take or bond to a submissive in order to create a drudge or menial servant. A submissive does not seek out the attentions of a Dominant in order to spend their life doing hard, menial, and monotonous work. Further, a submissive retains possession of their 'right to choose' and their right to 're-choose' or alter their decisions. At no point do they lose these inherent rights, regardless of any and all contractual agreements that may have been negotiated, signed, or agreed to by both parties. When we cross or blur these lines, whether by choice or accident, we risk everything we, as a community, hold dear.

A Dominant acts as a guardian for the life, welfare, and mental and physical well-being of any submissive whom they accept within their territory or life. Care of - two very significant words. Care is regarded as coming from desire or esteem. Regard is a feeling of respect and affection. These are vastly different words and meanings from those of ownership and possession as noted above.

There are times when people using this lifestyle deliberately set out to impose upon a new or susceptible submissive the 'idea' that the literal translations of these words are the correct meanings. If a submissive 'falls' under the influence of one of these people for a prolonged period of time, that submissives ability to independently rationalize may become severely impaired. This mental impairment may allow the submissive to be 'led' into irrational, immoral, unethical, and illegal decisions. Some pedophiles have learned to access the growing online D/s and BDSM communities to deliberately seek out vulnerable submissives through which to perpetrate their crimes. These predators seduce the submissive through overt manifestations of (apparent) dominance. Often, they will encourage the submissive to prove the depth of their submission through actions in opposition to the submissive's moral and ethical codes. This is a slow breakdown of the mental integrity and health of the individual. This is an action in opposition to caring for the welfare of the submissive. This type of token 'offering' by the submissive is often progressive in nature. The pedophiles' ultimate desire is to corrupt the submissive's mental viewpoint to such an extent that the submissive will accept the usage of their own children by the pedophile.

In this predatory action, the submissive is encouraged to view their own children as physical possessions of the submissive. With the transfer of the submissive's personal 'ownership' to the pedophile (Dominant), all of that submissive's possessions would then become the property of the pedophile. This apparent logical progression is absolutely and totally against all codes of acceptable behavior. This is not the behavior of any Dominant. Any submissive who can rationalize giving over the guardianship or care of their child for the usage of another adult as a slave to that adult is mentally impaired and thereby incompetent to make any decisions for the welfare of that child. In addition, the acceptance of this viewpoint by a submissive means that the submissive is incompetent to formulate their own consent. Mental impairment negates consent.

A child owns themselves. A parent is a guardian of that child's welfare, not an owner of that child for their private usage.

Submissives should actively guard against the desire to 'prove' the depth of their submission. The sky does not need to 'prove' that it is blue. If you are asked to agree to and perform actions against your personal beliefs, and especially against your children. Leave! These predators profane the meaning of D/s and, in my opinion, have absolutely no place within our community.

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Archivist Note: Email links (steeibtrfl@aol.com, steelbfl@sonic.net) are no longer valid and have been omitted from this archive. The bookstore link was for a heritage site that is no longer active and has been omitted from this archive. OP's works were not found on the successor live site. Also, the discussion group on Yahoo Groups is no longer available and was not found on archive.org.

To purchase books by the OP, please search your preferred bookseller by title or by the OP's noms de plume: "Mistress Steel" and "F.R.R. Mallory".

Retrieved May 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20120111071402/http://www.steel-door.com/token_child.htm.

More Definitions

Ownership

The legal right to possess, use, enjoy, and alienate (transfer/sell) property, tangible or intangible, representing complete dominion over an asset.

Possession

The act of owning, controlling, or occupying an object, asset, or property, encompassing both direct physical custody ("actual") and legal control ("constructive"). It signifies having dominion over something, ranging from personal belongings to legal ownership of land, or in sports, controlling the ball or puck.

Guardian

A person or entity legally appointed to take care of someone (a ward) or their property, or a person who protects, defends, or watches over something. They are responsible for a ward's welfare, such as a child or incapacitated adult, and are often subject to court oversight, ensuring they act in the ward's best interests.

Slave

A person legally owned, controlled, and forced to work for another without pay or freedom, often treated as property. It refers to someone in absolute bondage, often through violence, or figuratively, one submissive to a habit or influence.

Drudge

A person who performs tedious, menial, or unpleasant work, often in a repetitive, unimaginative, or servile manner. As a noun, it refers to the laborer, while as a verb, it means to toil or labor at such tasks.