Readers,
A couple weeks after a fun round of spanking and conversation with one of my wonderful playmates, I received an email from him, following up on our previous conversation.
We discussed that the era in which many of us were reared – one of acceptable, permissible, and even advisable corporal punishment – is coming to an end. Most public and private schools no longer employ the ‘three licks’ method of discipline, and many states and countries have outlawed the practice altogether. Also, many caregivers now choose other, less physical ways of teaching, like TimeOuts.
My friend and I wondered whether, by removing the experience, either direct or remote, of corporal punishment from early development would render the world spanko-less one day….or at least spanko-light. And whether the natural changes of lifestyles and environments would put a different ‘spin’, so to speak, on spanking play.
This is neither pro nor con early corporal punishment, and not meant to be a discussion of early-life experiences. Instead, I am curious whether, when taken out of the environment altogether, spanking would still become a distraction, and in such numbers as in previous generations.
And, if the spanking fetish does still thrive, will the fantasies be contextually the same? Here, I’m addressing specifically the seemingly very common thread which runs throughout the current, mature spanko population – conservative, traditional domestic scenarios. Current generations haven’t grown up on the same Sears&Roebuck catalog fantasies as their predecessors – they’ve cut their teeth on Victoria’s Secret and Brazilian bikinis, after all.
What do you think? Will the new generation of spankos be hard-wired in the same way as we? And how will the natural changes in the world around us change the process and execution of the fetish?
– Dana
‘The Future of Spanking’ : Conversations with Spankos Ch. 14
Visit my premium video, DVD, and products website at DanaKaneSpanks.com.
I don’t see spanking as a fetish ever going away. There’s still going to be old pictures, cartoons, movies (etc.) that are going to resonate with some more than others. Even just the WORD is enough for many (including myself). Also consider other fetishes like dungeon or bondage that have little bearing on most people’s day to day life yet they still fascinate. I, myself, rarely was spanked. And I’m amazed at how many young people who didn’t grow up with it are now really into it.
Phil
Good question. Another way of looking at it is “Where do today’s spankos come from?” At 70 years young, I had plenty of early exposure to spankings. While I never attended a school where spanking was allowed and freely applied, the threat was still there, as were stories about teachers and principals who spanked. At home, though, it was just part of life. I knew where the Sears catalogs and Ladies Home Journals were, and I had my fantasies of being spanked by those lovely ladies in their slips (because often that’s as dressed as mothers got in those days until they needed to leave the house).
Most of the spankos that I’ve met in my adult life are at least in their 40s so they at least had an opportunity to be exposed to some of the influences that I did. But what do the youngsters fantasize about? I suspect that it’s the Internet image of a mistress who, among foot worship, teasing, whip cracking, and humiliation swing a paddle for a few smacks in between other activities to fill up the hour.
What do the “kids” who come to see you say?
– Mike
As a child with an younger brother, I was always in trouble. My parents were firm believers of spanking. Yet I was in my 30’s before I recieved my first pleasure spanking. I never think the two as related. Apples & oranges?
I think the change you wonder about shows itself in the differences between US and British spanking websites, in some respects. First, there seems to be “more” interest in England than in the US in adult spanking.
It also appears that the Brits compared to Americans prefer to see or do FM, maybe quite severely. It appears that “we” (average US spankophiles, not necessarily readers of this blog), compared to the Brits, prefer to see or do MF . . . usually less severely . . . and in particular ManspanksveryhotF or MspanksbratF.
About the USA . . . do “we” think she (the recipient) must be a caring and good person to submit and maybe cry or scream, good-naturedly? Is it that American males have less appreciation for the benefits of being spanked? Maybe . . .
Because of the US religious culture, I believe there will always be people spanked as kids–it may simply be that there is a lesser %, certain eras and more in other eras. Also, I don’t think we will get any “less” spanked here than we already are. Add a few years of fiscal cliff or economic woe . . . and we could see the 30-50s.
Very good question…I have always wondered about those that weren’t raised this way and how they come to needing or enjoy it.
Interesting, I was never spanked by adults as a child. But me and some girls would play house and spank each other and I’ve been fascinated by spanking ever since. I don’t think it takes much to flip the spanko switch. I have a feeling that this fetish is not going anywhere. In fact it seems like it getting more main stream. ~CapD
I think there may be less fear of disciplinary spanking for children these days. So whatever connection there was for me between that fear/excitement and my awakening sexuality may not be as strong for the current generation. I think this may be a good thing…
People will still get off on the sensation of spanking, with the location of nerves and the many senses involved in the act. There’ll always be the attraction of the power dynamic between spankee and spanker. Also, there’ll be plenty of people who need to atone for real or manufactured misdeeds and spanking will come to the rescue as the perfect answer.
I was just reading this article from a 20-something year-old: http://www.thefrisky.com/2009-06-01/first-time-for-everything-spanking/ and if you transpose her dilemma over to how a strong man also enjoys a F/M spanking dynamic, it resonates with me.
Anthony
Thanks to everyone for some very pertinent thoughts on this subject.
I should be clear that I do not believe that early spanking experiences cause one to become a spanking fetishist. I do, however, believe that some early introduction, even (or especially) remote, does seem to be part of the process. Whether we’re hard-wired for it, or whether it’s begun from some outside stimulus, is probably impossible to tell.
– Dana
Great question. Part of spanking seems to be rooted in biology, subordinate monkeys sort of “assume the position” when they present their hindquarters to the dominant members of the group. Body language doesn’t get any more pronounced than that; it’s similar to showing one’s throat. And of course it’s focused on an erogenous part of the body. So no matter what happens culturally, spanking will continue to be one of the more common fetishes.
However if physical punishment of children, or even its acceptance, continues to decline I think it will change a lot of the ritual around it. If culture didn’t have an impact on the popularity and expression of a fetish then it wouldn’t have been so popular among the British patrons of French brothels that it earned the name “le vice englais”. Scolding will likely showing the greatest change. A lot of the emotional charge comes from a familiar premise, that a spanking is earned, or will adjust an attitude, or is the appropriate way to deal with a spoiled brat, or that someone of a higher status has the right to hold you physically accountable for your actions. Not having this background would make it less intense. But this is coming from someone for whom a big part of the fetish is one person’s authority over another.
I do think that this question can be answered. Ask Scandinavians who are into BDSM, particularly the Swedes, how popular spanking is. Are the same fantasies popular as in Britain and the US? Is the emphasis on the ritual as strong? Does pre-spanking language have as powerful of an effect on the participants there as it does on those here? Someone taking a survey and comparing the ratios of various answers from one culture to the next is probably not going to happen. Well, I bet a dominatrix who has worked in Scandinavia and the US or England has a pretty good guess.