Humiliation

Like many spanko’s humiliation and corporal punishment are for me intrinsically linked. You’ll find that my stories often include a shame-faced schoolboy being made to stand half naked before a strict schoolmistress awaiting his fate. A group of giggling schoolgirls are usually looking on pointing and making unkind remarks about his exposed private parts and bare bottom. This is inspired by my personal experience with a certain amount of poetic licence. At the schools I attended, corporal punishment was almost always administered by male teachers and it was unusual for pupils to be asked to adjust their clothing. Bare bottom spankings/canings were not unknown but in all my schooldays I only once saw a classmate punished in that way.

Fem Dom in its various forms is a fetish which may or may not be linked to a spanking fetish. Standing naked and doing the ironing while some leather clad female is hurling insults at me is not my idea of a good time but it’s the kind of scenario that many apparently enjoy. I’m told that many high powered business executives take pleasure in engaging in such bizarre activities. Similarly many spanko’s are very powerful and dynamic people in the vanilla world but enjoy taking on a meek and submissive role behind closed doors. Maybe it’s some kind of safety valve.

I would be interested to hear how other members feel. How important is it for authors to describe the embarrassment that their characters must be feeling when faced with the prospect of having to bare their bottoms and suffer not only the pain but also the humiliation of being spanked especially by a member of the opposite sex and/or in public?

My immediate reaction is: embarrassment yes, humiliation no, but that, of course, depends on the definition of the words. I see embarrassment as what follows naturally from the spanking - the shame of having been found out and in need of punishment - and humiliation as something extra, often a bit cruel and unnecessary if punishment is the goal. But I'm not very consistent and find corner time rather enticing...

Personally, I find that describing the embarrassment suffered by my, almost exclusively female, spankees is a key element of writing a discipline story as opposed to a consensual/loving spanking story.

Humiliation is an interesting concept and can have many degrees. A little humiliation may be necessary to create desired embarrassment and some girls love play humiliation, even if severe. I agree with Alef that in a real-life punishment, intentionally humiliating the girl is cruel and unnecessary.

I have recently written a story for a girl who fantasised about being humiliated and embarrassed by being spanked (and exposed) in front of an audience of her vanilla friends--Isla's Party Surprise.

There's a thin line between embarrassment and humiliation. I'm mostly on the embarrassment side.

I suppose with only three replies the question is answered. Humiliation is not an important factor to most readers. I'll keep that in mind in future.

I wouldn't be so sure, but also take into account that the forum activity is not what is used to be. The impression I get from the stories and comments I read, is that many readers/writers are not averse to a little bit of humiliation. For me personally it also depends on the kind of story

I agree with Alef's take and would not read too much into the reply total. Humiliation is one element of many - not always essential but in a given scenario it works well.

It could be said that any punishment is both humiliating and embarrassing. I think any story that does not mention the feelings of the recipient would probably be quite lacking unless there were other factors extremely well done. Generally, I want to read about those feelings and the more detail the better.

I have always regarded embarrassment and humiliation as near synonyms, but Alef's distinction has got me thinking. Is humiliation a stronger form of embarrassment? Does it imply a more deliberate intent on behalf of the spanker? I cannot decide. In the end I suspect it may depend on the context.

Returning to the original question, whilst maybe not essential I think embarrassment and humiliation can enhance a story. I think they are especially useful in two types of story. First, they provides an added edge to erotic stories with a domination/submission theme - for me Geoffrey Stirling is the master in this genre. Second they can add to the humour in a story e.g. where a naughty teen's friends accidentally stumble across her being spanked. (Or, of course, it could be 'his' friends, which given gendered stereotypes might be viewed as even more embarrassing).

I find this an interesting topic, so I would love to hear more views.

This seems quite subtle: In my mind it is possible to feel humiliated without feeling that one has been humiliated by somebody (but perhaps then it should be "embarrassed" according to my own distinction?)