Erogenous zones become much more sensitive when engorged with blood from physical arousal, which can be achieved by many forms of stimulus.
Corporal punishment can be an erotic massage and a sexual stimulant. Spanking, caning and flogging are the stimuli of choice for a least 10% of the population.
From the couples who play at gentle spanking with hand and hairbrush, to the more hardy individuals who need a thrilling thwack with a cane, anything that brings blood rushing to the tender tissues of the buttocks and genital areas can greatly enhance sexual foreplay. In some individuals, this also applies to the breasts and nipples and can even include the application of ginger and black pepper to enhance arousal.
But often people will say, “We are not masochists. We do not actually enjoy the pain, but we realise we have to endure it to get the results we do enjoy.” These results are both chemical and emotional and relate to both sexual domination with the erotic use of power, and to the effects of endorphins and opiates generated by the body in response to these stimuli.
In sensual play, anything that concentrates the mind on the erogenous zones brings increased pleasure, from gentle stroking with fur and feathers to gradually increasing sensations from various grades of floggers, paddles, tawses, canes and whips.
Wielded by a craftsman, these range from soft, wide, leather floggers which give a thuddy, massage-like effect, through grades of smaller and smaller implements which sting ever more fiercely. The sensations range from pleasure to pain, from a boring, plucking sensation to a burning intensity which finally subsides to a sensation you never want to end. This is where extreme care is necessary to ensure that no lasting physical damage is inflicted.
As long as the skin is pinked gently and persistently and the level of stimulus gradually increased, no lasting marks or harm should ensue, but cold, fierce strokes can bruise and even break unprepared skin. When the skin is persistently stimulated to a damp, gooseflesh texture it is also fragile and vulnerable, so common-sense should be used and it is always wise to stop whilst you are wanting more.
It has been suggested that the desire for such extreme stimulus arises from childhood abuse, particularly in incestuous families or in the tradition of the Public School. But this does not explain the fantasies of those men and women who have never experienced any such thing, but still derive extreme pleasure from the disciplinary attentions of a skilled, controlling partner.
It does appear that the desire for such erotic stimulus is innate to many highly sexed or sexually sophisticated individuals who have entertained these fantasies from puberty and find that to indulge them produces the most intense sexual arousal and orgasmic response.
But, as in all extreme forms of sexual play, common-sense, safety and negotiation are paramount. When one partner has had enough, the play should stop. There is a fine line between supplying an exquisite stimulus and actual abuse and this should never be over-ridden.
