So what's with all the spankophiles?

@SensibleJulie Hah :)

Most of my partners were never spanked at all until they were adults. These needs run deep. Spanking as ritual is a certain aesthetic twist on it - but the stuff underneath is a lot more primal.

@QuixoticSoul Yes that's why I said I USED to believe that.

@SensibleJulie It will never completely die out, that's just what the authorities were hoping would happen. Unfortunately for them, they forgot that some people are born with a fetish for spanking, and if they weren't spanked growing up they will experiment with it once they become adults and they will still enjoy it.

@NankerPhelge Oh I don't think the authorities were ever hoping to eradicate sadomasochism. Our standards for what is and isn't considered abuse have changed, that's all.

@QuixoticSoul I am convinced the authorities were hoping to eradicate sadomasochism simply because they didn't like it themselves. It will take a lot to convince me otherwise.

@NankerPhelge Seems like it should be the other way around - the more elaborate the hypothesis, the more evidence is required - otherwise the simpler explanation should be treated as more likely.

@QuixoticSoul Yes the more obvious it is the more likely to be true

@QuixoticSoul @SensibleJulie I always treat the personal explanation as more likely to be true because the more personal reason is the more obvious reason to me.

@SatanBurger First off, I trust "grey areas" about as much as I trust drunken drivers. As far as I'm concerned everything is either black or white. Second, sadomasochism is not a disorder, it's a personal preference just as much as any other personal preference. Is it considered a disorder if one likes strawberries but not oranges? Is it a disorder if one likes Led Zeppelin but not Pink Floyd? I don't think it is, is it? Therefore, why should sadomasochism be considered a "disorder"? People engage in it for the plain and simple reason that they enjoy it. It doesn't get any simpler.

@SatanBurger I didn't say YOU said it was a disorder, I was wondering why the powers-that-be, or society, or whatever you wish to call it, would think that. I didn't phrase my comment in such a way as to imply you were the one who thought that, did I?