Of all the writings that I have found about the responsibilities of Dominance and submission, my favorite is the concept that the job of the Top is to 'seduce' submission from the bottom. I came upon that premise when I thought I had neatly categorized all possible manifestations into either submission taken, submission given, or submission accepted. It gave me a new way to looking at the interaction and it continues to be the one which captures for me the essence of the responsibility not only of the Top, but of my responsibility as a bottom.
What happens when the Top sees his/her role as one of seduction? (note that we are not talking about sexual seduction here, but rather seduction of a submissive response). It creates a dynamic where my submission isn't assumed to be a given and where the Top consciously looks for ways to offer me something irresistible. In order to do that he must know enough about me to know what I find irresistible. The relationship becomes dynamic and has an intensity, an awareness, an appreciation and a focus which seems to me to be unique to this particular school of thought. And it absolutely disallows the possibility of topping from the bottom, while at the same time conferring quite a lot of responsibility on the bottom.
Who would have thought that there was responsibility in being seduced. But in fact, there is plenty. I'm responsible for having my head in the right place, for being open and honest about my needs and desires, for staying focused, for expressing appreciation and for demonstrating that I am worthy of the time, attention and energy that has gone into the seduction of my submission. It simply isn't possible in my mind to confuse all that with topping from the bottom. Does it influence the Top? Certainly it does. But only in the sense that if the bottom does her/his job, then the Top has the knowledge and understanding of what makes the bottom tick. That's the magic that makes the seduction work. The form, the substance, the process of the seduction remains firmly in the control of the Top.
abi