I received a question by email the other day that got me thinking.
“In reading some recent articles about gay marriage and newly accepted gender and sexuality types, it strikes me that we are becoming a far more tolerant and open society in the sex/gender identity realm. And yet, it doesn’t really seem like that extends to spanking kinks. Most spankos are still firmly closeted, spankos would rarely say something like you’re getting a spanking when we get home in front of vanilla people, unless trying to cause their bottoms a ton of embarrassment, and people in the industry seem to drop out whenever their vanilla careers take off, often, it seems out of fear of negative repercussions, and toy stores have innocuous packaging and store names for your credit card.
[Do] you think we will reach a stage in which people can be open spankos, similar to the way in which being openly gay today doesn’t really cause even a raised eyebrow, without it affecting their vanilla lives?”
There are some positive signs of it being more mainstream at least in the playful, sexy sense. It’s not uncommon to see a quick spanking scene in a movie or television show. Heck, I just saw a commercial for Big Bang Theory today where Amy is gets a few spanks.
However, I think the world may be slow to openly embrace spanking in its entirity. It’s hard for me to pinpoint the reason why. Is it because it’s considered an act of violence by some? Is it because it’s simply not the norm? Is it because it’s often related to sex – which, despite it being the ultimate natural act is still considered somewhat taboo in itself? I think it’s a bit of each which makes it really hard for non-spankos to accept.
I see playful swats as being somewhat generally accepted and practically vanilla-rated these days, but acceptance of the spanko lifestyle to the point of it being acceptable conversation in mixed company is sadly not likely to occur soon in my opinion. There is no social push for tolerance when it comes to spanking and I think it’s a bit too edgy and misunderstood a concept to grow a large support base of vanillas. Perhaps I’m being too cynical, but I find it hard to imagine being able to openly bring up the topic of spanking or engage in the act in public without reasonable fear of rejection by the general population.
What do you forsee? Do you imagine that spanking will one day be a practice that we no longer have to keep secret?