I have been seeing a lot of profiles both on here and other sites like Fetlife, and speaking to D types that use the term interchangeably. Many of the D Types I spoke to would basically be expecting the s type person to give everything up and over like within a TPE, but would just say they were looking for a submissive.
Granted the slave is technically a submissive, but a submissive doesn’t have to be a slave.I do understand that a number of titles can be under the submissive umbrella, but a submissive slave would not be the same as a submissive little or a general submissive. I get people see things differently, but I wholeheartedly don't believe a slave, and a general submissive are interchangeable.
With a general submissive, in my understanding, they have more autonomy and ability to negotiate more before and within the relationship. This includes the relationship being more open to change if the submissive realized that certain things were damaging to their mental health, maybe the submissive would want more/less tasks, or maybe kids growing into a different age range is taking a toll more than it was before. There can be a wide variety of things that can happen and a straight submissive would have more power than a slave in re-negotiations. They would also have more power during their day in what order to take care of tasks given to do, if they want to work, what they do in their free time, or where they go as long as the D type is getting what he needs in the dynamic and is under the terms of the contract.
In my understanding, for slaves there are discussions to negotiate, but once discussions are done and set, then complete power goes over to the D type, and that is it, no further negotiations unless the Master has allowed it to some degree. Slave types are generally not really given any or very little autonomy, and the negotiations can be extremely thorough so there isn't much reason for re-negotiations. I feel slave's lives in general are micromanaged almost entirely. Master says "Jump" and the slave asks "How high". Hmmm or they may already know how high because it has already been negotiated.
In some cases, their Master may give them more autonomy, but it really depends on the relationship, whether there are multiple roles within the dynamic, or what the Master needs in general.
I have seen it mentioned here on the cage as well as other sites, that some see slaves as being brainless or having no personality, and while I don't think this is the case, I think that maybe for the most part, that may be just what the slaves want to do. They very well could be extremely intelligent, but maybe they need to relax apart from the pressure that is in their life. They don't have to think about what they are doing because their Master has already told the slave what they are going to be doing at all times. For example, when they use the bathroom, when they eat, when they need to be a table or topless as a party favor for their guests, or just when they need to sit on the floor and wait for a command. Slaves don't have think about what people think unless it would be displeasing to their Master, nor worry about money or how they dress because it is all up to their Master's pleasure. They don't have to think a bunch because it has already been worked out that all they need to worry about is pleasing their Master. I think some thinking has to come in memorizing what the Master wants and predicting what would please him most. As most hopefully know though, not all dynamics are the same, but I really feel that is what is different between slaves and submissive. I could be wrong, but that is also why I ask different people, read, or watch videos because it gives me a better perspective of what the BDSM dynamics look like in real world applications.
I would also respectfully disagree with those who have mentioned that a collar is what turns a submissive into a slave. From various perspectives that I have been reading through, a collar could symbolize a slave giving up all control to his/her Master, but it could also mean that as a person on the "s" side of the slash, they are taken and no longer available to the dating pool, not necessarily a slave. I have heard/read that a collar in that situation can be almost like a marriage to them or even seen as more important than a marriage, rather than just the decision to turn a submissive into a slave.
