CallaFirestormBW -> RE: "Lifestyle" vs Individual (11/19/2009 11:52:23 AM)
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Our household is a little different -- we're together for many reasons, of which D/s is only a part. Not all of our members participate in D/s or BDSM activities, just like not all of our members are pierced, tattooed, etc. We have the flexibility to be able to choose to have a person as part of our lives who may only fit a small niche, because there are enough people that specific wants can be drawn from the -pool- of individuals, rather than needing to have them from one specific person. For me, this is an advantage to collective households, and a profound, even limiting, disadvantage for me in smaller, more insular situations. In a pairing or small group, compatibility of interests is a -lot- more compelling as a requirement, if only because those interests/desires can't be filled through another relationship. In particular, the most profound necessity for compatible wants/desires/limits is going to come in a closed, monogamous pairing where no outside play or casual situations are allowed. Because the fetish and sexual needs of both partners have to be fulfilled within that single relationship, it is very difficult to say "Oh, honey, well you don't want to do that... I completely understand... I'll just do without.", especially on things that are of high desire/interest to the other party. Of -course- these can work out, and in healthy relationships, people make compromises all the time to nurture the relationship. In fact, a healthy relationship requires a good balance of nurturing the relationship vs. nurturing one's own ego. However, having boundaries in place that are intrinsic to the -relationship- makes it all the more crucial to make sure that situations of resentment due to pressure to provide for an undesireable need in one's mate OR to deny one's desires because a mate is disenchanted with them do, IMO, make it more vital for smaller groupings to have more similar desires and limits. Calla
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