Humiliation

Absolutely. But now I'm also getting confused about what everyone thinks the difference is; it seems one person's embarrassment is another person's humiliation, and vice versa. Just like everyone has different pain thresholds - one person's severe is another person's light warm-up. Different strokes, as you say.

Burgundy
Absolutely. But now I'm also getting confused about what everyone thinks the difference is; it seems one person's embarrassment is another person's humiliation, and vice versa

Exactly, so now, you have to get into the heads of the characters in your stories to determine what is humiliation and what is embarrassment to them, and determine what each one needs. I bet you'll enjoy that.

I have enjoyed reading posters ideas of what they see as humiliation. My feeling is it is the sounds the spankee makes during their punishment adds to the account These add a zing in my opinion to the story. The sounds illustrate that the spankee is feeling the burn and reacting from the physical punishment. A vocal response lets the punisher know they are getting through to boys and girls of all ages.

@burgundy I don't think embarrassment and humiliation are necessary part of the same continuum. I think it is more situational. If the 3rd part/observers think "there but for the grace of G_d go I" then that is an embarrassing situation. If the subject's predicament however puts them in a situation where the 3rd party might ridicule them then that is a potentially humiliating situation.

Both, if done in the right context and way, can be exquisitely arousing. For me, that needs to be between consenting adults.

I guess this wasn't made clear in anyone's posts so far, so I'm glad you brought it up. I had been assuming we're obviously talking about consenting adults, but of course 'assume' makes an ass out of you and me - just me in this case...

So, since I'm explicitly and very clearly on record here with my declarations that I looooove cruelty and humiliation - I'm, like, totally into it - let me also go on record to explicitly confirm that I obviously meant between consenting adults.

As to your other point:
You're right, and it becomes easier to see (for me at least) if I'm applying it to something besides spanking. Sometimes embarrassment is necessary and in fact totally called for, in the process of making someone account for what they've done. Humiliation on the other hand is never necessary and is pretty much always uncalled for.

@Burgundy So it seems we are pretty much in agreement. What remains to be seen is if we take the side of our tops or bottoms in our stories. That may be for a more private exchange

Aha, another unspoken assumption! I have both male and female tops in my stories, but the narrative sympathy always goes to the spankee/humiliatee (if I understood correctly what you meant by 'take the side of'.) I can't quite picture how I would write a story where the person doing the humiliating is in the right.
Absolutely send me a popup for further female gossip

*is curious and tries to eavesdrop on the 'female gossip*

Unless you desperately need a long, hard spanking, I wouldn't eavesdrop on these two!

Alef
Agreed...can you imagine how humiliating it would be if he got caught?