The Library of Spanking Fiction: Wellred Weekly
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Articles
Items of interest regarding all things spanking
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Consent vs. Non-Consent in Fiction and Real Life  As a writer of spanking romance, the issue of consent vs. non-consent is a pretty hefty consideration for me. It relates to my thoughts on feminism vs. submission, as well. I read with interest Cara Bristol's article in Wellred Weekly Vol.1 No.8 on the topic of Spanking, Feminism and Gender Roles, as it is a subject I've been giving a lot of thought to recently. Let's face it: non-consent is hot, at least it is to me, as a natural submissive. The idea of the fate of the heroine's backside being truly at the mercy of the hero is more titillating than one in which she can stop it with a safe word at any moment. (For simplicity's sake I'm using the M/f spanking scenario throughout this article). That works for me in fantasy but never in reality. This is where feminism (or is it just humanism?) collides with what turns me on. In this day and age, I believe it is never acceptable to hurt another human being. So that's where consent must come in. I had never heard of domestic discipline (DD) until a year ago, and when I first started reading about it, I was simultaneously shocked and turned on at the idea. I have to admit that at first, the feminist in me was quite rankled. Once I gained a deeper understanding of these relationships, however, I found peace with it. Consent is the key. What's beautiful to me about DD relationships is the dance around consent and non-consent. It's the consensual non-consent -- the idea of giving blanket consent to your partner to be punished, giving up your right to refuse any individual punishments that you may not care to receive. That makes it both acceptable to the feminist in me (consent) and still really hot (non-consent). The non-consent piece takes it out of the domain of role-playing with spanking and into reality. It truly is an acceptable fantasy come to life for the modern-day feminist spanking enthusiast. I don't mean to diminish the other benefits of DD relationships (e.g., intimacy, improved communication, ease of a structured chain of command) by merely focusing on what I find sexually stimulating about the idea. I understand there are other reasons couples choose a DD relationship, including religious beliefs, but I'm not going to explore those here, as my primary focus is on the consent/non-consent question. I like to write historical spanking romances, largely because there is a similar dance between consent and non-consent. The consent comes in the form of societal consent or custom. Corporal punishment was the norm until recently. It was within the rights of the master of the house to physically punish his servants, children and wife for disobedience. So in this type of environment, I can easily place a quaking heroine over a stern hero's knee without any compunction whatsoever. In any spanking story I'm looking for believability, which typically means that in a contemporary setting, the spanking must be consensual. The only scenarios I can see in which a non-consensual spanking might plausibly fly are ones in which the spanker has a total disregard for the laws that govern human rights. For example, I could imagine a mafia boss, a drug dealer, or a pimp having no problem with yanking off their belt and administering a sound spanking. While I do have some fascination with those types of scenarios, it would be much more difficult to craft a romance around those types of characters, and I'm primarily interested in romance with discipline, versus strict disciplinary stories. I'm not saying it couldn't be done (Tony Soprano was likeable, even as we were shocked by his behavior), but I'm not sure I have the skill or depth as a writer yet to pull that off. I have a hard time reading contemporary stories with non-consensual spankings. My suspension of disbelief just doesn't go that far, I guess. It's hard for me to believe the heroine would accept it in this day and age, and if she does, then it would be impossible for me to maintain any respect for her. I am especially offended by stories that seem to imply that a modern day man has a right to spank any woman who doesn't submit to his authority. You just can't cross my feminist line that way. No one could ever make me believe that a man knows better and therefore should have the final say and back up those decisions with spanking. I am sometimes even offended by historical scenarios like these, in which the "moral" of the story seems to be that the heroine should have listened to the hero, period. I don't like the spanker to be completely flawless and the spankee to be the wild, unruly chit who must be tamed. To me, this misses the exquisite beauty of dominance and submission. It is not about one or the other being right or wrong, but rather the remarkable interplay of the dynamic itself. The drama is in the moments when these elements come together, creating sexual tension and interest between the characters. The complexity of non-consent naturally heightens that tension. Authors of contemporary spanking fiction have come up with a myriad of imaginative ways to insert their characters into scenarios of reluctant consent, which is not quite as hot as non-consent, but still allows for the titillation of the quailing spankee submitting to a punishment they don't wish to receive. I have great admiration for the writers who are able to make a contemporary scenario both believable and still retain that element of non-consent or reluctant consent. These are the most successful stories, in my opinion.  9 comments
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