Subs of Convenience

I came across this term recently in an article by @DoctorSue.  It is a wonderful encapsulation of something I’ve tried to convey myself but failed to reduce it to such a succinct phrase.

She used this to describe how D/s has evolved in the era of the Internet and created a massive pool of online male subs.  These subs are characterised by the way they view submission.  It’s new times, attention spans are decreasing at the same time as people come to expect instant gratification.

Online D/s allows for ‘submissive’ gratification to be achieved in minutes and which the sub can turn off until he next time wants to feel submissive.  And next time he feels submissive he’s quite likely to choose someone else to be submissive to.

Almost everything about online D/s is geared to the convenience of the male sub pretending that he is indeed a dedicated submissive for a few minutes at a time.

This kind of goes hand in hand with the term ‘Velcro collar’ where submissive allegiance changes at the drop of a hat.

I think I’m old fashioned when it comes to the meaning of words and I object when common usage changes a previous meaning.  One particular non-kink bugbear is decimate.  The original meaning is very explicit, a cull of one in ten as a Roman military punishment and until quite recently meant a reduction of around 10% in something.

Similarly, I find the now common Internet usage of the word submissive to be like finger nails on a blackboard.  I still regard submission as a state of being that just is and not something to turn on and off at my convenience.

I think I’ll be using this new shorthand from now on (with @DoctorSue’s permission).