Impact play

Last updated
In this flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004 the dominant is using an advanced double flogger technique. Flogging demo folsom 2004.jpg
In this flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004 the dominant is using an advanced double flogger technique.

Impact play is a human sexual practice in which one person is struck (usually repeatedly) by another person for the gratification of either or both parties which may or may not be sexual in nature. It is considered a form of BDSM.

Contents

There are a number of activities that qualify as impact play.

In erotic spanking the sub is struck on the buttocks either with the dom's open hand, or a rigid implement such as a paddle, cane or riding crop. In the latter case the activity is often referred to as paddling, caning or cropping.

In erotic flagellation the sub is struck with a flexible implement such a whip or belt. Whips are classified by how many falls they have:

For safety, impact play should be done on areas of the human body well protected by fat or muscle; spots to avoid include the kidneys, neck, tailbone, hipbones, the head and all joints. The usual targets for flagellation are the buttocks and the two areas of the upper back below the shoulder blades. With care, the thighs, the backs of the calves and the chest can be targets as well. Breasts are another potential (but high-risk) target, and should only be used with experience.

The use of a whip means that the dom must take great care to hit the intended target area, and avoid wrapping; when a whip or flogger makes contact with the target area somewhere up its length and the remaining length wraps around the sub's body to deliver a sharp, non-erotic, and possibly injurious off-target blow, such as to the hipbones or ribs. The longer the falls, the more skill is required by the Dom to land a safe blow. Advanced flogging techniques use a pair of floggers employed in a martial arts style alternating pattern, a technique commonly referred to as "florentining" or "florentine flogging."

Less common forms of impact play include punching and face slapping. A slapper or smacker may also be used. This consists of a broad (3 to 4 inch wide) semi flexible leather paddle with rounded and tapered edges, designed to minimize the severity of tip strike.

The sensations produced by impact play depend on the area in which the impact is concentrated. Wide implements such as an open hand, paddle or flogger produce a dull "thuddy" sensation. Narrow implements such as a cane, riding crop, belt or single tail produce a sharp "stingy" sensation.

History

Fresco inside the Etruscan Tomb of the Whipping where two men are portrayed flagellating a person in an erotic situation Tomba Della Fustigazione.jpg
Fresco inside the Etruscan Tomb of the Whipping where two men are portrayed flagellating a person in an erotic situation
Photo shows a submissive woman bound to Saint Andrew's Cross whipped at Folsom Street Fair 2010. The red marks on her body are from the whipping. Woman whipped at Folsom Street Fair 2010.jpg
Photo shows a submissive woman bound to Saint Andrew's Cross whipped at Folsom Street Fair 2010. The red marks on her body are from the whipping.

One of the earliest depictions of erotic flagellation is found in the Etruscan Tomb of the Whipping from the fifth century BC, named after its depictions of eroticized flagellation. Another reference related to flagellation is to be found in the sixth book of the Satires of the ancient Roman Poet Juvenal (1st–2nd century A.D.) [1] further reference can be found in Petronius's Satyricon where a delinquent is whipped for sexual arousal. [2]

There are anecdotal reports of people willingly being bound or whipped, as a prelude to or substitute for sex, during the 14th century. [3] Flagellation practiced within an erotic setting has been recorded from at least the 1590s, as evidenced by a John Davies epigram, [4] [5] and references to "flogging schools" in Thomas Shadwell's The Virtuoso (1676) and Tim Tell-Troth's Knavery of Astrology (1680). [6] [7] Visual evidence such as mezzotints and print media is also identified revealing scenes of flagellation in the 1600s, such as in the late seventeenth-century English mezzotint "The Cully Flaug'd" from the British Museum collection. [6]

In the 1639 book, De Usu Flagrorum (which David Savran declared was the authoritative text on the subject for two hundred years), the author Ioannes Henricus Meibomius “rejoice[s]” to know that when someone doing flogging for sexual gratification was found in Germany, they would be burned alive. [8]

John Cleland's novel Fanny Hill , published in 1749, incorporates a flagellation scene between the character's protagonist Fanny Hill and Mr Barville. [9] This book is considered "the first original English prose pornography, and the first pornography to use the form of the novel". [10] It is one of the most prosecuted and banned books in history. [11] A large number of flagellation publications followed it, including Fashionable Lectures: Composed and Delivered with Birch Discipline (c1761), promoting the names of ladies offering the service in a lecture room with rods and cat o' nine tails. [12]

Representations of erotic spanking and flagellation make up a large portion of Victorian pornography, for instance 1000 Nudes by Koetzle. [13] Hundreds of thousands of engravings, photographs, and literary depictions of spanking and flagellation fantasies circulated during the Victorian era, including erotic novellas like The Whippingham Papers , The Birchen Bouquet , Exhibition of Female Flagellants [14] [15] or the pornographic comic opera Lady Bumtickler's Revels . [16]

Theresa Berkley (died 1836) ran a high-class flagellation brothel at 28 Charlotte Street [17] (which is today's 84–94 Hallam Street). [18] She was a "governess", i.e. she specialised in chastisement, whipping, flagellation, and the like. [19] In 1828 she invented the "Berkley Horse", an apparatus that reportedly earned her a fortune in flogging wealthy men and women of the time. [20] Her fame was such that the 1830 pornographic novel Exhibition of Female Flagellants was attributed to her, probably falsely. [21]

Interest in sexual gratification received from giving, receiving and witnessing spanking began to increase during the 1800s (particularly within France and the United Kingdom). Interest was not only confined to spanking literature, but the development of photography during 19th century resulted in the beginning of the creation of spanking photography. In the context of literature, this growing demand caused the publication of numerous limited edition spanking novels (although, while the term novel is/was used many of these works from this time and subsequently can be instead classified as novellas).

This interest for spanking (both in regards to literature and photography) followed into the next century, with the early 20th century being considered the "Golden Age" of spanking literature. This period of spanking literature is marked by three notable characteristics. First, greater audiences were reached with the availability of less expensive editions and greater print runs. Second, many of the spanking novels contained numerous illustrations (many of which have fallen under public domain and are easily available online). Third, this period saw a gradual increase in the output and publication of spanking literature, growing particularly within the 1920s and peaking within the 1930s. Much of the output of spanking literature during this period was by French publishers, writers and illustrators. Similarly, within the context of spanking photography, France was also the home to the creation of much content, with the most notable studios being the Biederer Studio and the Ostra Studio. This "Golden Age" of spanking literature (and French spanking photography) came to an end as a result of the Second World War, more specifically due to the German occupation of France between 1940 and 1944 and later the enforcement of censorship laws. A somewhat notable exception to the decline of spanking literature during this period was John Willie’s bondage Bizarre magazine (published between 1946 and 1959). Of the many French works from the "Golden Age" few at the time were translated into other languages within which spanking literature was popular, namely English and German, but beginning during the mid-1960s a number of these French works were translated into English and published, along with these works being republished in French and older British works also being republished. The occurrence of this was facilitated by the availability of mass-produced paperbacks and changes in censorship laws.

Today, a subculture known as Christian domestic discipline (CDD) promotes spanking of wives by their husbands as a form of punishment; some describe CDD as a form of abuse and controlling behavior, but others consider it a simple sexual fetish and an outlet for sadomasochistic desires. [22] Christian conservative radio host Bryan Fischer said to the Huffington Post that it was a "horrifying trend –bizarre, twisted, unbiblical and un-Christian". [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BDSM</span> Erotic practices involving domination and sadomasochism

BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves to be practising BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture often is said to depend on self-identification and shared experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominatrix</span> Woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities

A dominatrix, or domme, is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are popularly known for inflicting physical pain on their submissive subjects, but this is not done in every case. In some instances erotic humiliation is used, such as verbal humiliation or the assignment of humiliating tasks. Dominatrices also make use of other forms of servitude. Practices of domination common to many BDSM and other various sexual relationships are also prevalent. A dominatrix is typically a paid professional (pro-domme) as the term dominatrix is little-used within the non-professional BDSM scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotica</span> Category of sexually stimulating media

Erotica is art, literature or photography that deals substantively with subject matter that is erotic, sexually stimulating or sexually arousing. Some critics regard pornography as a type of erotica, but many consider it to be different. Erotic art may use any artistic form to depict erotic content, including painting, sculpture, drama, film or music. Erotic literature and erotic photography have become genres in their own right. Erotica also exists in a number of subgenres including gay, lesbian, women's, monster, tentacle erotica and bondage erotica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic spanking</span> Act of spanking another person for sexual arousal or gratification

Erotic spanking is the act of spanking another person for the sexual arousal or gratification of either or both parties. The intensity of the act can vary in both its duration and severity, and may include the use of one or more spanking implements. Activities range from a spontaneous smack on bare buttocks during sexual activity to sexual roleplaying, such as ageplay or domestic discipline. Erotic spanking is often found within and associated with BDSM, however the activity is not exclusive to it. The term spankee is commonly used within erotic spanking to refer to the individual receiving a spanking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporal punishment</span> Punishment intended to cause physical pain

A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or paddling. When it is inflicted on adults, it may be inflicted on prisoners and slaves, and can involve methods such as whipping with a belt or a horsewhip.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flagellation</span> Whipping as a punishment

Flagellation, flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an unwilling subject as a punishment; however, it can also be submitted to willingly and even done by oneself in sadomasochistic or religious contexts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scourge</span> Type of whip or lash

A scourge is a whip or lash, especially a multi-thong type, used to inflict severe corporal punishment or self-mortification. It is usually made of leather.

The role of sadism and masochism in fiction has attracted serious scholarly attention. Anthony Storr has commented that the volume of sadomasochist pornography shows that sadomasochistic interest is widespread in Western society; John Kucich has noted the importance of masochism in late-19th-century British colonial fiction. This article presents appearances of sadomasochism in literature and works of fiction in the various media.

Theresa Berkley or Berkeley was a 19th-century English dominatrix who ran a brothel in Hallam Street, just to the east of Portland Place, Marylebone, London, specialising in flagellation. She is notable as the inventor of the "chevalet" or "Berkley Horse", a BDSM apparatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic literature</span> Literary genre

Erotic literature, or literotica, comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of eros intended to arouse similar feelings in readers. This contrasts erotica, which focuses more specifically on sexual feelings. Other common elements are satire and social criticism. Much erotic literature features erotic art, illustrating the text.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erotic furniture</span> Furniture designed for sexual purposes

Erotic furniture, also known as sex furniture, is any form of furniture that is designed to act as an aid to sexual activity. This includes furniture and harnesses designed to aid positioning, assisting with comfort, penetration level and stimulation. Other types of erotic furniture are constructed to be an aid to erotic bondage. The functionality may be obvious or the erotic furniture may be designed to appear as conventional furniture. Some conventional items of furniture such as the four-poster bed and the chaise longue traditionally have erotic associations, but they are not considered to be erotic furniture as their primary use is not erotic. Erotic furniture can also be furniture decorated with erotic art.

The Lustful Turk, or Lascivious Scenes from a Harem is a pre-Victorian British exploitation erotic epistolary novel first published anonymously in 1828 by John Benjamin Brookes and reprinted by William Dugdale. However, it was not widely known or circulated until the 1893 edition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petticoating</span> Fetishized cross-dressing activity

Petticoating or pinaforing is a type of forced feminization that involves dressing a man or boy in girls' clothing as a form of humiliation or punishment, or as a fetish. While the practice has come to be a rare, socially unacceptable form of humiliating punishment, it has risen up as both a subgenre of erotic literature or other expression of sexual fantasy.

The Romance of Lust, or Early Experiences is a Victorian erotic novel written anonymously in four volumes during the years 1873–1876 and published by William Lazenby. Henry Spencer Ashbee discusses this novel in one of his bibliographies of erotic literature. In addition the compilers of British Museum General Catalogue of Printed Books list this book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of erotic depictions</span>

The history of erotic depictions includes paintings, sculpture, photographs, dramatic arts, music and writings that show scenes of a sexual nature throughout time. They have been created by nearly every civilization, ancient and modern. Early cultures often associated the sexual act with supernatural forces and thus their religion is intertwined with such depictions. In Asian countries such as India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Japan, Korea, and China, representations of sex and erotic art have specific spiritual meanings within native religions. The ancient Greeks and Romans produced much art and decoration of an erotic nature, much of it integrated with their religious beliefs and cultural practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Carrington</span> British publisher of erotica

Charles Carrington (1857–1921) was a leading British publisher of erotica in late-19th- and early-20th-century Europe. Born Paul Harry Ferdinando in Bethnal Green, England on 11 November 1867, he moved in 1895 from London to Paris where he published and sold books in the rue Faubourg Montmartre and rue de Chateaudun; for a short period he moved his activities to Brussels. Carrington also published works of classical literature, including the first English translation of Aristophanes' "Comedies," and books by famous authors such as Oscar Wilde and Anatole France, in order to hide his "undercover" erotica publications under a veil of legitimacy. His books featured the erotic art of Martin van Maële. He published a French series La Flagellation a Travers le Monde mainly on English flagellation, identifying it as an English predilection.

<i>The Mysteries of Verbena House</i> Pornographic novel of flagellation erotica

The Mysteries of Verbena House, or, Miss Bellasis Birched for Thieving is a pornographic novel of flagellation erotica set in a girls' school, written under the pseudonym Etonensis by George Augustus Sala and completed by James Campbell Reddie. It was published in 1882 in a limited edition of 150 copies at the price of 4 guineas.

Raped on the Railway: a True Story of a Lady who was first ravished and then flagellated on the Scotch Express is an anonymous English pornographic story published in 1894 by Charles Carrington under the imprint "Society of Bibliophiles" or "Cosmopolitan Bibliophile Society". The victim, a married woman, is raped by a stranger in a locked railway compartment and, in a trope common in later Victorian pornography, is depicted as ultimately taking pleasure in the act: she is then flagellated by her brother-in-law for the latter transgression.

<i>Exhibition of Female Flagellants</i> 1830 English pornographic novel

Exhibition of Female Flagellants is an 1830 pornographic novel published by George Cannon in London and attributed, probably falsely, to Theresa Berkley. The principal activity described is flagellation, mainly of women by women, described in a theatrical, fetishistic style. It was republished around 1872 by John Camden Hotten in his series The Library Illustrative of Social Progress, attributed to Theresa Berkley.

The Library Illustrative of Social Progress was a series of pornographic books published by John Camden Hotten around 1872. They were mainly reprints of eighteenth-century pornographic works on flagellation. Hotten claimed to have found them in the library of Henry Thomas Buckle (1821–1862) but Henry Spencer Ashbee counterclaimed that they were in fact from his collection.

References

  1. ↑ Juvenal: Satires 6, Lines 474–511 Archived 11 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Petronius: Satyricon Archived 30 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine (lat.)
  3. ↑ Arne Hoffmann: In Leder gebunden. Der Sadomasochismus in der Weltliteratur, Page 11, Ubooks 2007, ISBN   978-3-86608-078-2 (German)
  4. ↑ Epigram 33: "In Francum"
  5. ↑ Bromley, James M. (2010-05-01). "Social Relations and Masochistic Sexual Practice in The Nice Valour". Modern Philology. 107 (4): 556–587. doi:10.1086/652428. ISSN   0026-8232. S2CID   144194164. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  6. 1 2 Jones, M (2007) "Print of the Month: The Cully Flaug'd" in British Printed Images (BPI) to 1700, Viewable at: http://www.bpi1700.org.uk/research/printOfTheMonth/december2007.html Archived 2013-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Nomis, Anne O (2013) "Flogging Schools and Their Cullies" in "The History & Arts of the Dominatrix" Mary Egan Publishing and Anna Nomis Ltd, 2013. ISBN   978-0-9927010-0-0 pp.80-81
  8. ↑ Jillian Keenan (9 March 2016). "BDSM isn't a right due to lack of "history," Virginia court says". Slate.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-30. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  9. ↑ John Cleland: Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure, Penguin Classics, (7 January 1986), ISBN   978-0-14-043249-7 Page 180 ff
  10. ↑ Foxon, Libertine Literature in England, 1660–1745, 1965, p. 45.
  11. ↑ Browne, Ray Broadus; Browne, Pat (2001). The Guide to United States Popular Culture. Popular Press. p. 273. ISBN   978-0-87972-821-2.
  12. ↑ Fashionable Lectures Composed and Delivered with Birch Discipline (c1761) British Library Rare Books collection
  13. ↑ Scheid, Uwe and Koetzle, Michael (1994). 1000 Nudes: Uwe Scheid Collection. Cologne: Taschen, ISBN   3-8228-5569-3
  14. ↑ Marcus, Sharon (2007). Between women: friendship, desire, and marriage in Victorian England. Princeton University Press. p. 147. ISBN   978-0-691-12835-1.
  15. ↑ Mudge, Bradford Keyes (2000). The Whore's Story: women, pornography, and the British novel, 1684-1830. Ideologies of Desire. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN   0-19-513505-9.
  16. ↑ Sutherland, John (1990). The Stanford Companion to Victorian Fiction. Stanford University Press. p. 307. ISBN   0-8047-1842-3.
  17. ↑ Chancellor, Edwin Beresford (1971). The Pleasure Haunts of London During Four Centuries. B. Blom. p. 187.
  18. ↑ Pentelow, Mike, & Marsha Rowe, Characters of Fitzrovia, Felix Dennis, Pimlico, 2002, p. 97 footnote.
  19. ↑ Hughes, Kathryn (2001). The Victorian Governess. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 137. ISBN   1-85285-325-5.
  20. ↑ Simons, G. L. (1974), The Illustrated Book of Sexual Records, repr. Random House Value Publishing, 1983, ISBN   0-517-42800-8, p. 125, quoted by "The history of flogging". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  21. ↑ Mudge, Bradford Keyes (2000). The whore's story: women, pornography, and the British novel, 1684–1830. Ideologies of desire. Oxford University Press. p. 246. ISBN   0-19-513505-9.
  22. ↑ Zadrozny, Brandy (19 June 2013). "Spanking for Jesus: Inside the Unholy World of 'Christian Domestic Discipline'". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  23. ↑ Bennett-Smith, Meredith (21 June 2013). "Christian Domestic Discipline Promotes Spanking Wives To Maintain Biblical Marriage". Huffpost. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.