It is still fascinating to me how differently I react to pain when it is inflicted on the buttocks versus on the back versus on the face versus some other location. So much focus is often placed on the implement causing this pain but it’s always been that the location of the pain has a stronger effect on my headspace.
Years ago, I disliked getting hit on the buttocks but I adored getting hit on the back. (I still adore getting hit on my back.) Facing a wall and being whipped was and still is, for the most part, the epitome of my mental image of strength. In contrast, having my ass hurt used to piss me off. I had never really been slapped in the face.
Over time, I was able to eroticize pain delivered to my ass through canings, spankings, and paddlings. I suspect this mostly has to do with the gentle and overtly sexual introduction of my ass cheeks to my play with Eileen, for which I am now, of course, very grateful. I’d never thought it possible before, but for the first time recently I actually got turned on with a properly rhythmic caning that left bruises for several days. But hitting my back still doesn’t turn me on.
There is cultural imagery associated with beating certain parts of the body. The back is where you whip the insolent. The ass is where you paddle the disobediant young. The face is where you hit any kind of victim. Certainly, these associations are not far from my mind when I experience such sensations. I wonder, do other cultures (or individuals) with different associations have different reactions because of that?
While feeling pain on my back or face doesn’t translate sexually to me, feeling it on my ass does as long as there’s sufficent erotic context. Certainly, the proximity of my ass to my genitals helps this, though I think more to the point is the fact that the ass is a larger erogenous zone to begin with. I suspect this is how it works for people who enjoy CBT. (I’ve never been much a fan of cruel attentions to my genitals. They seem made for gentler manipulations.)
by Eileen
17 Jul 2007 at 16:48
I love how your body’s reactions have changed since we’ve met. It’s as though you’re keeping a record of your personal history that I have access to through your body.
Also, we’ve both posted about personal developments in the space of 15 minutes.
by maymay
17 Jul 2007 at 23:50
Well, you know how meticulous I am about record keeping. ;)
by tom allen
18 Jul 2007 at 21:08
Sounds like you’re pretty, er, anal about it…
by maymay
18 Jul 2007 at 23:34
Oh, Tom. Not everything is about my ass, you know, though I appreciate your careful attentions. :)
by Richard
21 Jul 2007 at 17:15
For me the buttocks is the classic masochistic sweet spot. I eroticized it from the beginning.
Dropping to my rear thighs the pain becomes much harder to cope with. That of course is good in a way but I sometimes get confused by my own response.
Upper back whippings were the first I saw in popular media: pirate or historical maritime movies of some sort (too long ago for it to be clear). I don’t know if that is the cause or not but being whipped there makes me feel very, very submissive.
by maymay
22 Jul 2007 at 12:38
Dropping to my rear thighs the pain becomes much harder to cope with. That of course is good in a way but I sometimes get confused by my own response.
Ditto; pain in the thighs is remarkably difficult to process for some reason. It’s a wonderfully tempting challenge but can be very harsh. The one time my thighs took the most abuse (from a wooden table leg), they were so swollen I couldn’t fit into my jeans. I haven’t done anything like that since, in part because it’s truly frightening.