Hi Ag and fireandice - it's more than the submissiveness that is respected (at least for me, and I'm sure for many other Dominants as well). My girl has other qualities besides submission - and I respect those greatly - she does some things I could never do...the names I call her - including pet - are terms of endearment (perhaps with different meanings and connotations than in the vanilla world) and respect for all her qualities, though her gift of submission is the greatest of them all.