At home, there were no taboos. I remember myself going to my mum at the age of 13 or 14 and asking her if i was a lesbian. Her reply was "well, you're young and still discovering yourself, it's much easier to feel comfortable with a body you already recognise than one totally different. You'll know in a few years for sure". Now, I grew up with boys around the house, either my brothers' friends or my mum's students, so I was never shy of them. I don't mean that I strut around the house naked, but I was never afraid of men or extremely shy around them. But my education started after my first crush. I mean, in the beginning all I could fantasise was rough rough sex--sometimes even forced. However, it never felt enough. It was like something was missing. Plus, let's face it, i felt horrible. (for those who haven't read my intro page) So 1st off, the internet, at first "illegally" and then "legally" became my first tutor. However, the first sites I visited were basically story sites with no forums or so to interact with others and learn from them. Then came chat rooms, where I just observed, and sometimes felt extremely pretentious when using capitals for Dominants and so on and so forth. What I hated was that everybody complied, not out of respect, but merely because it was the chat room's rule. When i started learning more about the Lifestyle, however, it made more sense to me, as bip0lar, because i found it suitable.
In the beginning it also felt wrong, the fact that people's perception of D/s relationships is that the sub is a doormat. Especially when we talk about a female sub, there's so many fanatic feminists who view it as wrong because "women gave their lives for female rights" and the such. I study politics. I have feminist tutors. More than enough of them. And i agree. Women are free to choose. So if it is my choice to be a sub, NOT a doormat, then i demand that they accept it. This ties up with the first post on the thread about BDSM being more accepted in society.
Even though I am not in a R/L relationship and never have been (neither in the Lifestyle or vanilla) I currently am in an O/L relationship where master has taught me and is still teaching me many things:
from my likes and dislikes, me limits and my strengths, my needs as a woman, my needs as a sub and my needs as a person. Master was the one who taught me that my appearance should not play that big a role in any relationship, or that it's OK to want to give up control, it doesn't make you a bad person... I remember we played a few days ago and it was after a serious discussion, I burst out crying in front of the computer, so after I got better and we kinda started playing, master asked me whether i wanted it to be slow, calm, "be on top" if you must. But (and that was the first time i actually said that) that was one of those moments were i MOST needed him to be in absolute control, and i told him so.
--i'm really sorry if i'm getting off topic--
Another thing that i would put under Education (even if it only means learning it by myself, educating my own self if you want) was that honesty really IS the key thing in any kind of relationship--let alone on the D/s level.

bip0lar