This is the Master/slave flag. 

It’s been around since 2005, yet not many in the bdsm community know it. That’s because it’s for a small niche of the Leather and BDSM community….for those in power exchange relationships:  Doms/subs, Masters/slaves, Leaders/followers, etc. 

I was told once that the straight vertical line means ‘action’ and represents Dominants and the 3 lines are for ‘inaction’ and represents submissives. 

Well, I shared this on fetlife back in 2011 and how I didn’t agree with it. Mainly because, as a submissive I’m definitely not ‘inactive’. I’m busier than I’ve ever been. Master Tallen saw my post and set me straight. Thank goodness, because I was confused as to why someone would think a submissive is ‘inactive’. 

Master Tallen created the flag and presented it at the Master/slave conference in 2005. So, this info is right from the source. 

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dansarani

I was told the straight vertical line means ‘action’ and the 3 horizontal lines meen ‘inaction’ …… or translated closely to such. So, vertical line for Dominant/Master and horizontal lines for the one that has surrendered …sub/slave…..though i would argue about using the ‘inaction’ symbol…i’m busier now than i’ve ever been 🙂

Dec 28, 2011

MasterTallen

As the creator of this symbol, I NEVER declared the 3 lines to mean inaction. Whoever states so is in error. The vertical line means Dominance and Master. The 3 horizontal lines mean submission and slave. Period. The two have to be together to create the entire meaning. A Master is dominant to the slave. The slaves submits to the Master.

Dec 28, 2011

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So there you go. If you see this flag, now you know what it means and who designed it. 

If you ever run for the Master/slave title, and are studying your Leather history….this is great info to know. As a judge myself, I’ve definitely had this on my list of questions to ask the couple running for title.