Political cartoon from 1860 depicting Stephen A. Douglas receiving a traditional "over-the-knee" spanking from Columbia as Uncle Sam looks on approvingly.

Spanking refers to the act of striking the buttocks of another person to cause temporary pain without producing physical injury.^[1] It generally involves one person striking the buttocks of another person with an open hand. When an open hand is used, spanking is referred to in some countries as slapping or smacking. More severe forms of spanking, such as switching, paddling, belting, caning, whipping, and birching, involve the use of an implement instead of a hand.

Spanking is regarded as abusive in some cultures, but as an acceptable form of discipline in others.

Corporal punishment is most commonly used to discipline an infant, child, or teenager. It generally involves an adult - typically a parent, guardian, or teacher - striking the child's buttocks as punishment for unacceptable behavior. Historically, boys have tended to be more frequently spanked than girls.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Some countries have outlawed the spanking of children in every setting, but many allow it at least when administered by a parent or guardian. For the legal status of corporal punishment in different countries, see Corporal punishment in the home and School corporal punishment.

In some cultures, the spanking of a wife by her husband is considered acceptable forms of domestic discipline, though the practice is far less common than it used to be.^[7] In other contexts, the spanking of an adult can be considered a playful gesture during a social ritual or as a form of entertainment.

Terminology[link]

In North America, the word "spanking" has often been used as a synonym for an official paddling in school,^[8] and sometimes even as a euphemism for the formal corporal punishment of adults in an institution.^[9]

In British English, most dictionaries define "spanking" as being given only with the open hand.^[10] In American English, dictionaries define spanking as being administered with either the open hand or an implement such as a paddle.^[11] Thus, the standard form of corporal punishment in US schools (licks with a paddle) is often referred to as a spanking, whereas its pre-1997 English equivalent (strokes of the cane) would never have been so described.

The word "licks" is also a common term in West-Indian countries, especially Trinidad & Tobago. It usually refers to any sort of spanking or beating or really any sort of physical punishment. Licks can involve "switches" or small tree branches, pieces of cocoyea, or basically any sort of object near by. These can also include belts, spoons, brooms, and even rolling pins.

In Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the word "smacking" is generally used in preference to "spanking" when describing striking with an open hand, rather than with an implement. Whereas a spanking is invariably administered to the bottom, "smacking" is less specific and may refer to slapping the child's hands, arms or legs as well as its bottom.^[12]

In the home[link]

  Countries that have explicitly abolished all forms of corporal punishment of children.

In many cultures, parents have historically been regarded as having the duty of disciplining their children, and the right to spank them when appropriate; however, attitudes in many countries changed in the 1950s and 60s following the publication by pediatrician Dr Spock of Baby and Child Care in 1946, which advised parents to treat children as individuals, whereas the previous conventional wisdom had been that child rearing should focus on building discipline, and that, e.g., babies should not be "spoiled" by picking them up when they cried. The change in attitude was followed by legislation. Since 1979, 30 countries around the world (at 2011) have outlawed domestic corporal punishment of children.^[13] In Europe, 22 countries have banned the practice. And in many other places the practice is considered controversial.

In Africa (not in South Africa), the Middle East, and in most parts of Eastern Asia (including China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea), corporal punishment of one's own children is lawful. In Singapore and Hong Kong, punishing one's own child with corporal punishment is legal but not particularly encouraged.^[14] Culturally, many people in the region believe a certain amount of corporal punishment for their own children is appropriate and necessary, and thus such practice is accepted by society as a whole.

Studies have consistently found that:

• Boys are spanked more than girls;
• Mothers spank more than fathers;
• Toddlers and preschoolers are spanked most often;
• Parents from lower income groups spank more often.
• Parents who have more education are less likely to spank;
• Religious conservatives are more favorable towards spanking;
• Some groups, based on cultural and/or ethnic background are more likely to spank their children.^[15]

A common method of spanking is to have the child or teenager lying, stomach down, across the parent's lap, with the parent bringing their open hand down upon the child's buttocks. Alternatively, the youngster might be told to bend over, or lie face down across a bed.^[16] Spankings may be delivered over the trousers, over the undergarments, or upon the bare buttocks.^[17] Those who argue in favor of spanking claim that the bottom is the safest place to administer the punishment, since there is little danger of injury to this part of the body.

Opinions are divided on whether spanking is helpful or harmful to a child's behavior. Public attitudes towards the acceptability and effectiveness of spanking vary a great deal by nation and region. For example in the United States and United Kingdom, social acceptance of spanking children maintains a majority position, from approximately 61% to 80%.^[18][19] In Sweden, before the 1979 ban, more than half of the population considered corporal punishment a necessary part of child rearing. By 1996 the rate was 11%,^[20] and less than 34% considered it acceptable in a national survey.^[21]

On the other hand, many scientific researchers and child welfare organizations oppose it. Some studies have suggested that it does not benefit the child, and can encourage problems like anxiety, alcohol abuse, or dependence and externalizing problems.^[22] Various other problems have also been claimed.^[23]

Some researchers have been critical of these studies as scientifically unsound and have pointed out methodological flaws in how they were conducted, as well as the conclusions drawn.^[24][25] However, a longitudinal study by Tulane University in 2010 controlled for a wide variety of confounding variables previously noted and still found negative outcomes in such children.^[26] According to the study's leader, Catherine Taylor, this suggests that "it's not just that children who are more aggressive are more likely to be spanked."^[27]

Diana Baumrind believes that the evidence seems to indicate that mild, nonabusive, physical punishment is not harmful when used occasionally, in a loving relationship, and in conjunction with other methods of discipline, most notably with reasoning. She says that the critical issue is the relationship between the parent and the child. If the child feels as if he or she is in a loving, trusting relationship with his or her parents, then the child usually understands that discipline, and even spanking, is for the good of the child. Thus, in cases where it's easier for the child to understand why spanking to get him/her to obey is good for him/her, and more difficult for the child to understand why directly obeying is good for him/her, spanking would be the best option. When this occurs, Baumrind and others claim, there are no long-term negative effects.

Robert Larzelere, along with some of his colleagues, also suggests that spanking is not all bad and considers that spanking used in conjunction with reasoning was the most effective type of discipline in some situations. Larzelere, like most experts who believe spanking is not always detrimental, believes that certain guidelines must be kept in mind if parents choose to use corporal punishment. First, physical discipline should be limited to a couple of slaps applied by the open hand to the buttocks or legs. Second, it should only be used on children between the ages of two and six when other disciplinary methods may not be as effective. Third, it should only be used to back up less aversive disciplinary techniques and as a supplement to positive parenting. Finally, spanking must not be done while the parent is angry because it could escalate to abuse.^[15]

There is an ongoing debate on whether the sexual deviation "spanking fetishism" is caused by spankings received or witnessed in childhood (or puberty age) or not.^[28]There are claims that that some (but not all) spanking fetishes, are eroticizations of childhood traumas.^[29]

In schools[link]

Corporal punishment, usually delivered with an implement (such as a paddle or cane) rather than with the open hand, used to be a common form of school discipline in many countries, but it is now banned in most of the western world, including all of Europe, and in Japan, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa. These bans have been controversial, and in many cultures opinion remains sharply divided as to the efficacy or suitability of spanking as a punishment for misbehaviour by school students.

Formal caning, notably for teenage boys, remains a common form of discipline in schools in several Asian and African countries, especially those with a British heritage such as Malaysia, Singapore, Tanzania and Zimbabwe; however, in these cultures it is referred to as "caning" and not "spanking".

In the United States, the Supreme Court in 1977 held that the paddling of school students was not per se unlawful. The constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual punishment" applied only to those convicted of crime: the common-law stipulation that school corporal punishment be "reasonable and not excessive" was a sufficient safeguard against misuse.^[30] However, 31 states have now banned paddling in public schools. Paddling is still common in some schools in the South, where it is often called "spanking".^[31][32]

In India, corporal punishment is prohibited in schools in the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009). Article 17 states: "(1) No child shall be subjected to physical punishment or mental harassment. (2) Whoever contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be liable to disciplinary action under the service rules applicable to such person."

Adult spanking[link]

In some cultures, the spanking of women, by the male head of the family or by the husband (sometimes called domestic discipline) has been and sometimes continues to be a common and approved custom. In those cultures and in those times it was the belief that the husband, as head of the family, had a right and even the duty to discipline his wife and children when he saw fit, and manuals were available to instruct the husband how to discipline his household. In most western countries, this practice has come to be regarded as socially unacceptable wife-beating, domestic violence or abuse. Routine corporal punishment of women by their husbands, however, does still exist in some parts of the developing world,^[33][34][35] and still occurs in isolated cases in western countries.

However, there is no evidence of spanking of men by a woman in a domestic context. This may be due to the relative physical strengths of the two genders and the traditionally accepted role of the husband as the head of the family unit.

Today, spanking of an adult tends to be confined to erotic spanking between people engaging in other intimate activities, such as foreplay or sexual roleplay. People who use spanking as part of their sexual play are considered spanking fetishists.

In entertainment[link]

Patrick and John Wayne in a scene from McLintock!.

At times, adult spanking is used for entertainment. In most cases, it is a woman who is spanked by a man.

Yvonne De Carlo was spanked by Rod Cameron in 1945's Frontier Gal. The 1951 film Too Young to Kiss starring June Allyson also featured a spanking. In 1956, Tab Hunter spanked Natalie Wood in The Girl He Left Behind. 1959's Holiday for Lovers had Gary Crosby spanking Carol Lynley. In 1961's Blue Hawaii, Elvis Presley spanked Jenny Maxwell. The 1969 western True Grit featured a spanking for Kim Darby; in the 2010 Coen Brothers remake, the young actress Hailee Steinfeld, playing the same role, was spanked. In 2003's Kill Bill Volume 1, Uma Thurman spanked a young yakuza.

1953's Kiss Me Kate included a scene with Howard Keel spanking Kathryn Grayson in public view as part of the musical-within-a-film based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The scene was used in the film's main poster.

In 1963, McLintock! included two scenes of adult spanking in which mother and daughter are each paddled with coal shovels. The scene was used in the promotion of the film: at first a poster with the shovel in hand was used but, after protests, a picture with an open hand replaced the original. (Also in 1963, John Wayne spanked Elizabeth Allen in Donovan's Reef.) Both McLintock^{[citation needed]} and Kiss Me, Kate are loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew.

The 2002 film Secretary is a notable example of a spanking film. It is a dominant/submissive-themed romantic comedy-drama film directed by Steven Shainberg. It stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lee Holloway and James Spader as E. Edward Grey. The film is based on a short story from Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill.

Ritual spanking traditions[link]

Spanking of people who have for the first time succeeded in climbing on the top of Mount Triglav

There are some rituals or traditions which involve spanking. For example, on the first day of the lunar Chinese new year holidays, a week-long 'Spring Festival', the most important festival for Chinese people all over the world, thousands of Chinese visit the Taoist Dong Lung Gong temple in Tungkang to go through the century-old ritual to get rid of bad luck, men by receiving spankings and women by being whipped, with the number of strokes to be administered (always lightly) by the temple staff being decided in either case by the god Wang Ye and by burning incense and tossing two pieces of wood, after which all go home happily, believing their luck will improve.^[36]

On Easter Monday, there is a Slavic tradition of hitting girls and young ladies with woven willow switches (Czech: pomlázka; Slovak: korbáč) and dousing them with water.^[37][38][39]

In Slovenia, there is a jocular tradition that anyone who succeeds in climbing to the top of Mount Triglav receives a spanking or birching.^[40]

According to Ovid's Fasti (ii.305), during the ancient Roman festival of the Lupercalia naked men ran through the streets of the city, carrying straps with which they swatted the outstretched palms of the hands of women lining the racecourse who wished to become pregnant.

In North America, there is a tradition of "birthday spankings" where the birthday girl or boy receives the same number of hits as his/her age (plus "one to grow on") during the birthday party. Birthday spankings are administered over the clothes and usually by close friends or family members, and are generally playful swats not meant to cause real pain.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

• Spanking implements
• Spanking literature
• Spanking positions
• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Erotic Spanking

References[link]

External links[link]

Look up spanking in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Corporal punishment at the Open Directory Project
• World Corporal Punishment Research
• USA Today article on CEO spankings

Miss Understood
Miss Understood continues to act as Mistress of Ceremonies at East Village hot spot Lucky Chengs
Born	Alexander Heimberg New York City

Miss Understood (born Alex Heimberg) is an American drag queen originally from Levittown, New York, who has been based in New York City since the late 1980s. She was a prominent figure in the East Village drag scene of the early 1990s which revolved around the legendary Pyramid Club and Wigstock, an annual open air drag festival. Her film and television appearances include The Brenda and Glennda Show, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, HBO's Dragtime, TLC's Faking It, Wigstock, The Movie, Project Runway, and Sex and the City. In Josh Kilmer-Purcell's New York Times Bestselling Memoir I'm Not Myself These Days, one of the first competitions that Kilmer-Purcell's enters is one of Miss Understood's, in East Village's Lucky Chengs.

Screaming Queens Entertainment[link]

Miss Understood stopping a bus in the middle of 1st Avenue

In 1994, Miss Understood started a drag queen booking agency called Screaming Queens Entertainment, for which she acts as "CEO and Spokesmodel."^[1] The company was developed to showcase some of the outrageous personalities Miss Understood encountered in her early days. "When I first went clubbing, I was stunned by what I saw: a whole world of surreal looking characters that never left their homes before midnight. I had seen people dressed in drag before, but in New York, drag meant something totally different. It wasn't necessarily about passing as a woman, but about looking outrageous, feeling fabulous, and getting attention." Prominent events for which Screaming Queens provided entertainment include George Stephanopoulos's bachelor party,^[2] Blaine Trump's Valentine's Day dinner, Barbra Streisand's Farewell Concert VIP dinner, the Hugo Boss Christmas party; and New York Magazine's 30th anniversary, amongst others.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Miss Understood

• Miss Understood at the Internet Movie Database
• Queenmother.tv Profile of Miss Understood
• Screaming Queens Official website

The word asshole, a variant of arsehole, which is still prevalent in British and Australian English, is a vulgar to describe the anus, often pejoratively used to refer to people.

History[link]

The word arse in English derives from the Germanic root *arsaz, which originated from the Proto-Indo-European root *ors — meaning buttocks or backside.^[1] The combined form arsehole is first attested from 1500 in its literal use to refer to the anus. The metaphorical use of the word to refer to the worst place in a region, e.g., "the arsehole of the world") is first attested in print in 1865; the use to refer to a contemptible person is first attested in 1933.^[2] In the ninth chapter of his 1945 autobiography, Black Boy, Richard Wright quotes a snippet of verse that uses the term: "All these white folks dressed so fine / Their ass-holes smell just like mine ...". Its first appearance as an insult term in a newspaper indexed by Google News is in 1965.^[3] As with other vulgarities, these uses of the word may have been common in oral speech for some time before their first print appearances. By the 1970s, Hustler magazine featured people they did not like as "Asshole of the Month."^[4] In 1972, Jonathan Richman's Modern Lovers recorded his song "Pablo Picasso," which includes the line "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole."

Until the early 1990s, the word was considered one of a number of words that could not be uttered on commercial television in the United States. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay caused a major shock when he uttered the word during a televised MTV awards show in 1989.^[5] However, there were PG-13 and R rated films in the 1980s that featured use of the word, such as the R-rated The Terminator (1984), the PG-13-rated National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), and the PG-rated Back to the Future (1985). By 1994, however, vulgarity had become more acceptable, and the word was featured in dialog on the long-running television series NYPD Blue, though it has yet to become anything close to commonplace on network TV. In some broadcast edits (such as the syndication airings of South Park), the word is partially bleeped out — ironically, as "assh—", with the profane half of the word intact.

Semantics[link]

The word is mainly used as a vulgarity, generally to describe people who are viewed as stupid or incompetent or detestable.^[6]

This word or its literal translation is found in colloquial speech in a number of cultures (in both English and other languages).^[7] This is because it describes an organ of elimination that is considered a taboo region (since it belongs to the intimate parts) of the body in many societies.^[8]

The English word ass (meaning donkey, a cognate of its zoological name Equus asinus) may also be used as a term of contempt, referring to a silly or stupid person. In the United States, and, to a lesser degree, in Canada, the words arse and ass have become synonymous; however, in the rest of the English-speaking world, ass still only refers to the donkey, rather than the arse (buttocks). It is worth noting that speakers of some varieties of English "drop their Rs" before consonants, leading to a pronunciation of arse that is quite similar to ass.^[9]

Political usage[link]

In 2000, during a Labor Day event, then candidate George W. Bush made an off-hand remark to his running mate, Dick Cheney, that New York Times reporter Adam Clymer was a "major league asshole." The gaffe was caught on microphone and led to a political advertisement chiding Bush for "using expletives ... in front of a crowd of families," produced for Democratic opponent Al Gore.^[10]

In February 2004, American media reported that during a rally of supporters, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Bush "an asshole" for believing his aides in supporting a coup against Chavez in 2002.^[11] The word in the original Spanish was "pendejo", and in news coverage the word was widely, though incorrectly, translated as "asshole"; the meaning of the word varies substantially in Latin America, and in Venezuela its meaning is closer to "fool".^[12] The following year, in September, Nightline host Ted Koppel said to Chavez on national television, "I'm going to perhaps shock you a little, but these are your words. You called President Bush an asshole," to which Chavez replied, "I've said various things about him. I don't know if I actually used that word."^[13]

See also[link]

• Arse
• The No Asshole Rule
• Sexual Slang
• Profanity

References[link]