So You Think You Can Spank

If you do not watch the entire video above, a dance sequence from the June 24th US Season 5 episode of So You Think You Can Dance, watch the six seconds between 00:1:04 - 00:1:10. Make sure you have your volume on. Note the girls squealing and screaming like it's 1964 and they're in the audience the night Ed Sullivan presented The Beatles. But what are they screaming for? That's right - a young man, dancing the part of an older man, about to smack a scantily clad young woman's ass.

The dance, choreographed by the terrifying but extremely talented Mia Michaels and performed by dancers Randi and Evan, doesn't just feature six seconds of round female backside. The entire piece is in honor of it. Its movement, its watchability, its place at the center of this dance's universe. The sequence is flirty and sexy and surprising, well-received by judges and audience alike.

The screams of the audience falter just a little at the movement of Evan's hand, but pick right back up again. I gasped when I saw it; I don't blame the audience, seeing it in person, for losing their breath for half a second. The program is family-oriented. I know people who watch this show with small children. The point being, viewers may have been a bit surprised that a little bit of spanking showed up in the middle of their dance show, but it was met with cheers.

Now, the smack wasn't a true smack. It landed softly, part of the dance. My excitement isn't so much over the physical event than it is the presence of the idea. I've seen spanking show up recently in the television shows Weeds and Californication, both on Showtime. Neither show is family fare, that's for certain, and neither presentation was a positive representation of this thing we do. This dance is the first time I've seen presented even a hint of the idea of spanking being a sexy and playful and acceptable adult past-time. Maybe I'm reading too much into a single raised hand, but I can't help but see this as a positive step towards broadening the minds of the general populace.

On the results show the following night, each dancing couple (partnered as contestants on the program, not partners as dancers or otherwise in real life) was introduced and given feedback on their performance and the voting results as to whether they would remain on the series. Even before Randi and Evan's names were announced, the audience once again cheered wildly for them, moreso than for any other couple. Neither is the best dancer on the show, but the ass-centric dance with the spanking tease was the clear winner this week, hands raised.

Backhand

image: No Regrets: The Best, Worst & Most #$%*ing Ridiculous Tattoos Ever by Aviva Yael & P M Chen, published by Little, Brown.

Mr. W showed me this image the other day at The Independent and my first instinct was, "My goodness, that must have stung!" Then, seeing the article it was connected to, I realized how such a mark was caused: via a needle and ink.

The article was called "Making Your Mark: The World's Most Bizarre Tattoos" and featured just that - strange tattoos. This one, however takes the cake. I wish I knew what she was thinking when she had that image placed upon her body, not to mention how the tattoo artist took the request.

One can assume that the tattooed woman in question is a fan of spanking. We can probably assume that, like many spankees, she enjoys viewing the marks left afterwards. There's something that makes me feel both sexy and proud when I look over my shoulder and see anything from the bright pink of a fresh play spanking to the white stripes left long after a caning has ended and the welts have faded. On the one hand, now everytime she admires her own backside, she'll have a mark to admire. On the downside, will the marks from a real spanking have the same impact as if they were the only marks on her bare bottom? They'll at least be unsymmetrical, and we all know that tops pride themselves on their ability to leave us in symmetrical pain. That handprint might confuse the entire canvas.

Is to ward off potential spankers? After a night out, she takes a man home, fearful that he may spank her, but when he sees that mark, he'll know she's already been punished? Or is to beckon them? Maybe her options were either a textual tattoo reading "Spank Here" or the hand, and she chose the hand. Even so, she'd still have to pull her pants down first, which doesn't seem like the thing one should do while still out at the pubs or clubs.

I wish I could ask her why she chose this. I know there are often intensely personal reasons behind the ink, and I am more curious about this tattoo than any other I've seen. Since third grade I have wanted a small Eye of Horus on the back of my neck, and I still haven't had the courage to commit to such permanence. What is the story behind this bottom hand?

The Spanking on the Wall

I have so much to write but not much time to do the writing! Mr. W and I recently went on a short vacation for our second anniversary. We stayed in a converted nunnery, featuring quotes from nuns on the walls. To our absolute amazement and delight, the word "spanking" was on the wall over our bed. I have a suspicion that the ghosts of nuns past may have contributed to the spanking I received during our stay - if only I'd recorded at least the audio to share with my fellow spankophiles! I think I sobbed more from a spanking with our new leather paddle (from The London Tanners, more to come on that delicious beast of an implement) than from any other punishment I've received. I've never felt more like a weepy little girl, and I cannot wait to tell you more about it. Fingers crossed that I finally find some time this week to explain it all in detail.