slaves and masters/mistresses

Well, I have a friend who has been researching, in an in-depth manner, (*smiles) the whole slave auction scene in Second Life and I have been following her musings with some interest.

What has amazed my friend is the sheer number of slaves looking for a dominant partner. That, of course, like a lot of things has got me thinking, wondering why this is such a major SL activity. The partial emancipation of women, for example, is here being thrown out of the window, lock, stock and barrel....why?

Now, before you jump to any false assumptions, Soror has The Mighty Prim (not an avatar name) as both master/mistress and slave/pet and it is extremely unlikely that she will sacrifice Blender for any good looking guy/gal in mock leather and long hair (terrible uniform, like the vampires).

Well, pure speculation follows....
Can it be that the rush for equality has lead to a retrograde desire for a time when gender roles were more stereotypical?
Could it be that, in the safety of a virtual environment, experimentation is intriguing, curiosity being one of the cornerstones of human existence?

Obvious mental flaws show up, in my humble opinion, if public humiliation is how you choose to spend your SL time, and particularly nasty things occur here as in other worlds, but these, hopefully are in the minority.

While it seems to me like a natural extension of role-playing games for a couple who have already bonded to indulge in various forms of games, .....why would anyone put themselves up for sale, and abuse, to the highest bidder (especially when the Linden Dollar is never gone make any of em rich) in a public auction house?

Maybe I shouldn't write about things I don't fully understand, but it is an amazing situation, and, for the most part (it seems to me) the opposite of the healing processes that can be called to bear in this world (as mentioned in previous posts).

My friend said it is so fascinating she is thinking of starting her psychological studies again, and it certainly has me mystified, wracking my brains for what Jung would have seen in all this, apart from the fairly obvious manifestation of the power complex in all its convoluted forms. Well, maybe thats all it is.... not having much of a power complex myself I am unlikely to understand the appeal...

Hmmm... "And I am daily amazed at the degree of healing that occurs for those that are open to using SL for the exploration of the psyche." I wrote just a few days ago.......

:))