Legacy

What makes us who we are? Nature vs. nurture? I believe in nature, and through my journey in this "shadowy underworld" I can prove it.

A legacy is simple...a kinkster that is descended from other kinksters. This could be in any fashion: Dom, Master, sub, slave, etc. My older girl has posted some information from my personal history in her blog. In my intro, I mentioned that she had one, I'll go ahead and linky now:

Confessions of a Poly Pain Slut

In the post tonight "Owned by 200+ years of history", BrightEyes tells of the contents of journals we have from girls owned by ancestors of mine. I don't think it's terribly uncommon to be 3rd generation (as my youngest girl is), but these entries tell of men in my family, with the same last name, being involved in girl ownership as far back as 1868. We don't even know how many generations I am, since there are confirmed accounts of men in my line being Masters and Doms all the way back to 1799.... this is heavy stuff.

The interesting thing I note is the fact that many of the men referenced in the journals (written by the girls) were often not only Doms, but polyamorous as I am. Sometimes I wonder if I'm odd, but it only takes a look back to know that poly runs in the bloodstream, too. And the nature argument? Growing up, I had no clue as to this legacy. I am 31 and just now getting into how deep it is; my first inkling was just about 4 years ago. It descends from my father, where there are 2 siblings...both involved in the lifestyle. Nature. Steph, my younger girl, is an out-and-out slave. Her father is a Master friend of mine, so it seems nurture has an argument...until one knows that Steph was adopted at birth and didn't meet this father until age 19, after she was already under my collar. Her adoptive mother would not have approved her choice AT ALL; her nurture was completely the opposite of her nature. Nature won.

This legacy can be a great burden, but also a blessing. I have a strong sense of honor and now that I am aware of my legacy, my instinct is to honor it, carry it forth in a way that would make my forebears proud. The burden isn't to live up to them, as an observer might imagine, but to myself. But what it gives me is an explanation of why I am the way I am, why I live according to my own principles as sometimes opposed to what is "generally accepted." This subculture was born of the leather community, whips and chains and all that, but I'm not very interested in that part. I am symbolism, I am an allegory, I am an enigma, and I'm happy to be so. I believe that a person loves who they love, for me that's girls and not necessarily one. Perhaps that is the leather culture and the new norms it produces, but I believe firmly that it's inherited.

Like me, my ancestors didn't follow societal norms. One of the journal entries referenced in BrightEyes's blog is of a girl about WWI who was offered a collar. If one takes into account that we're southerners, one could see why that was such a big thing for this girl. (Hint: segregation). The journal entry from 1868 is clearly a poly relationship. I don't know what else we'll discover in these windows to the past, but I am proud to belong to such a long, colorful, legacy. I hope I will bring credit to the name and honor to the legacy. That is all.