Have people ever tried to make you feel bad about having an interest in spanking?

Interesting thread. I think 50 Shades, despite the awful writing was a game changer as it allowed the interest to be seen as mainstream. Pre 50S I would never have told anyone other than a girlfriend and of those I told, a few were prepared to try it but none were insulting or horrified. One turned out to be an addict and suggested we should return to her flat immediately so that I could spank her.

Post 50S I have been much more relaxed about it and have told numerous friends, male and female. I have never had an adverse reaction (may say something about my choice of friends, they tend to be liberal) and have occasionally discovered a mutual interest. I think, though, that this is much easier as a man if, like me, you are a spanker rather than a spankee as there is something faintly ridiculous to the uninvolved about a grown man wanting to go otk whereas wanting a girl's bare bottom in that time honoured position can be seen as part of normal male sexuality (not my view I hasten to add).

Not sure what the reactions would be to a f/m spanker "coming out". Anyone?

I have always assumed that if it is generally known in my social circle that I like spanking girls' bottoms I am more likely to be told that this particular non-GF girl shares my kink, not that I can recall that ever happening. Faint heart never won fair lady.

Of course 50S makes it less necessary to reveal yourself to someone who will be horrified. Bring the conversation around to the book and then ask if she enjoyed it. A young woman that I knew professionally and was talking to in the bar, late, at a conference, responded that she had read it twice and had her own paddle at home. Despite much effort I didn't get to spank that one either.

In conclusion--I do not generally advertise my "kink" but have no difficulty in mentioning it to probable vanillas in appropriate conversational settings. No one has ever tried to make me feel bad about it. The responses are more likely to be interest, amusement or extreme interest (when you know you have struck gold).

A woman I dated in college had a very negative reaction to my spanking kink. As we were lying in my bed one night preparing to be intimate, I asked her to bend me over her lap and spank me. She responded by saying, "That's pathetic! You're a man and you want me to treat you like a child!" I was too embarrassed to defend myself. She also described me as "perverted" on several occasions. Needless to say, none of these interactions made me feel better about my interest in spanking. I was deeply ashamed of that interest until I started meeting other people who had the same interest.

My dad expressed dissaproval of my kink when he found out. Well, it was not really for him to judge. None of his business. And where is the harm if everything is consensual? My dad was straitlaced and uptight. He was a banker by profession!

Most of my (vanilla) friends know what I'm into, and it doesn't seem to worry them at all. Some are quite amused, others I suspect are a bit envious, as though they'd like to try it but never dared.

Once when I was married my mother was staying with us for a couple of nights. We had a duplex apartment and she was sleeping downstairs, so I didn't think she could hear what might be going on the bedroom. But one morning, after I'd given my wife a pre-sex spanking the night before, my mum asked me "Did I hear what I thought I heard last night?" Since there was obviously no point lying about it (my mum wasn't stupid), I said, "Oh well, yes, Theresa was being a bit naughty..." My mum just smiled and said, "Ah, I'm sure she deserved it!"

Among the 'politically correct' crowd it is likely to be at least frowned upon.

I once confided in a girlfriend that my husband and I played spanking games. She was shocked. So I learned to be much more discrete . On a serious note, Glenmore has ended his comic spanking blog. It was fun and entertaining while it lasted.

Not in my view either, but this rather sexist attitude still seems to be very prevalent, even amongst women. I came across one woman advertising for a male spanker who said she did not want to be contacted by any "creeps", by which she clearly meant male spankees. As a switch myself, I don't see the spanking of men as any less natural, or any less necessary! Men seem to be responsible for much of the trouble in the world. As Rumpole was fond of quoting: Use every man according to his desert and who should 'scape whipping?

Do people think there is a difference between those who read and write spanking stories and those who actually want to practice the roles in reality? Or do most people with an interest, do both? Not sure I have the nerve actually to practice....

I have asked myself the same question. In my own case I rather doubt I would have picked up writing spanking stories if my life was packed with spanking practice, but there are some very prolific writers who also seem to enjoy a lot of real life action. I have seen authors disappear when the found a partner to practice with, but then authors disappear for all kinds of reasons.

As for wishing, I would definitely give up writing for good and regular practice, but I guess I am rather picky when it comes to what constitutes "good and regular"!

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I would have to agree with Alef (as I so often do!) that writing stories can be a substitute for hands-on action. It certainly is for me, but it doesn't completely replace the need. I find over a period of say two to three years the urge gets progressively stronger until it becomes an itch that just has to be scratched. These days, no longer having a willing partner as I once did, I normally scratch it by going to a professional.

It does take an awful lot of nerve to make one's fantasy a reality, especially the first time. For those who don't have an understanding partner, I think using a professional is probably the safest way to go about it, especially if they have taken the trouble to set up a website and you know they've been practising for some time. They aren't cheap though, and I certainly couldn't afford to make a regular habit of it.