Stories bordering abuse

Reading people's comments lately I have noticed a trend whereby the readers seem to identify strongly with the wronged person involved and the injustice done them. This just seems to be good writing. As I always say, it's just a story people .
There are many stories in the library that I'm not particularly fond of but as we used to say "Different strokes for different folks. "Just move on to something more to your taste.

Amen, I have enjoyed the openness of this board, remember it is fiction, enjoy it. The administrator is aware of situations and will resolve them, I second Tamlynn's comment, lets move on. We are aware of the situation, but we all have different tastes, so be it. Peace.

Exactly what I've said a few times in the library, tamlynn. If you can make a person angry or laugh in a story then you've done your job. That's the mark of a good writer. I agree with you turk and tamlynn. We're not beating a dead horse. I'm pretty sure everyone gets the idea by now.

I don't think this is necessarily so. Some are, of course, but many are meant to amuse, to provoke serious thought and discussion, or even to shock, while others raise questions of morality.

I don't believe the story in question was intended to shock, though it clearly shocked some people. It raised questions of justice and injustice, and perhaps a warning of what could happen. And, judging by the responses both here and in the comment section, it certainly succeeded. Of course, those may not have been the author's aims, in which case I've totally misread the whole situation!

Sorry, Linda, perhaps I was unclear. In the sentence before that snippet, I wrote that the general context of spanking stories is titillation. The rest of the post is explaining how reading a story in that context can be the problem, as we don't know the author's intentions and we shouldn't limit the genre to its general context.

I never thought that my tiny thread would create four pages of comments. But the interest must have been there. There does seam to be something that binds all or at least most of the comment together.
- This is fiction and nothing but fiction - in case any of us should have forgotten!
I'll close my part of it here. Thank you all!

I hesitate to prolong this discussion, because I haven't really enjoyed the notoriety which the story has brought my way, but I think Minidancer's brave admission that she was turned on by the description of the spanking deserves a response. I can't deny that although the story was very much about manipulation and deviousness, I did describe the spanking in a way which was likely to titillate. I don't see anything wrong with that (and here, unusually, I differ slightly from my good friend Alef, who stated above that stories should be EITHER moral or erotic). I rely on the judgement of our library management entirely. And why should stories in this library be more heavily censored than stories in general? I can think of a few interesting parallels in mainstream films. Take the famous "Happy Valley" for example, based on a true story, where the punishment (particularly the final one)inflicted on a minor is far more violent and brutal than anything I described. Of course, when I watch the film, I am appalled by the behaviour of the odious John Carberry, and feel enormous sympathy for Juanita, but at the same time I can't deny I am deeply excited by the sight of Juanite draped over the arm of a chair for a caning! The film generates conflicting emotions in the viewer. Lots of other examples come to mind, Cyd Hayman being strip-searched by Gestapo officer Robert Hardy in "Manhunt", or "Closet Time" which is ostensibly an anti-torture film but has an undeniable erotic element. Isn't it human nature that we are simultaneously appalled and fascinated by the darker side of things? And fiction provides a safe outlet for such feelings.

Did I really say EITHER? It must have been a mistake - or perhaps for the sake of the argument. I actually think that a mixture of the "forbidden" and the alluring is as basic to spanking stories as to, say, detective stories and spy novels. But just as there are serious detective stories and spy novels, there are also serious spanking stories where the prime motive isn't to arouse but to engage. One may still be aroused by such stories, with or against the will of the author and oneself - and that should at least make one pause for consideration. Like most other things in life, a passion for spanking isn't totally harmless.

A while ago I tried to write an abusive story... But I only managed to make it a snippet. Since what was left was, well ugly, it's posted as "An Ugly Snippet".

Beyond that...
I have written many stories involving NC spankings, things that should never happen in real life. The idea of a friend's mother, or your boss, or that hansom lifeguard, beautiful model, or whatever deciding that you are getting a spanking and you don't have a choice in the matter, that sparks with many people's fantasy lives. It's an idea that belongs in fantasy and fiction stories, not reality. In reality there would be several laws being broken, but it does work in fantasy. And in role play, but in reality it leads to shows like "Dr. Phil HD: I Spanked My Wife with a Wooden Spoon, and She Needs to Repent" (online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0ICI3NwRw .

AlanBarr
Alan, I read your story again after seeing these posts and some of the comments of other readers, thinking I must have missed something. But no, I came to the same conclusion -- this is an excellent story and, given its modest length, rich with complexity. True it involves an unjust, non-consensual spanking. But there's so much more to it than that, not least of which is that it was Sandie's deceitful actions in the first place that created the environment that led to her thrashing. So there are interesting lessons for her to learn (but that's not to say she "deserved" to be punished, just that she probably learned things about how life works, her family, etc., that will change her life for better or for worse going forward.)

As for people being aroused by a non-consensual, unjust spanking -- again, it's complex. People don't have much control over what arouses them, other than avoiding situations that give them pleasure despite being beyond the bounds of morality. In this case, you have a beating that's painful and humiliating, but not one causing long-term physical harm. As for the psychological harm, ...

...that brings me to the one little quibble I have with your story, and that's the title. What you describe is not the "Death of Innocence", but in fact quite the opposite. Sandie is a heroic character who first fought off Tully's unwanted sexual advances, then withstood a severe spanking before finally giving a false confession when the beating went past the point of endurance of any 14 year old girl. So she may have lost a considerable amount of naivete, but her "innocence" remains intact and her Honor even more. In the end, an inspiring story and if it turns people on, well there are worse things in this World for sure.