It involves striking the buttocks (sometimes other body parts) either with the palm of the hand or some other spanking implement. Devotees of spanking are sometimes called spankophiles or spankos. Many draw on historical forms of corporal punishment practiced in prisons, schools and courts in order to accentuate the erotic intrigue.

As Australia writer Sarah Fielding noted in a recent column on the joys of spanking, "An area of untold pleasure for those on the receiving end, the bum contains nerves that are buried under layers of muscle and fat. It is this muscle and fat that allows the butt cheeks to take all sorts of stimulation -- hard, soft, fast, with a crop, with a paddle, with the warm, firm palm of your lover's hand...

"Spanking the buttocks causes blood to flow to the bottom; the delightful pink blush that freshly spanked skin takes on is a sign that the area is receiving fresh blood. The genitals, conveniently located in the same vicinity, are also benefiting from the increased blood flow. This arousal, combined with the prickly, stinging sensation of being slapped is for many the ultimate in foreplay."

Like bondage, spanking has also wormed its way into the mainstream... or least, the recognizable fringes of the mainstream. Witness the movie Secretary, in which sweet yet troubled Maggie Gyllenhaal gets her kicks from being bent over the desk at work and spanked by her boss, played by the dark and brooding James Spader.

As with all fetishes, spanking is a consensual act. While it is a form of domination, both spanker and spankee are involved in the proceedings for mutual enjoyment. While the feeling of being spanked is said to heighten sexual arousal, the sound of the spank is also a very integral part of the experience.

Required Equipment:

While no equipment, beyond a bum and a hand to spank it with is really required, people into erotic spanking can use many things to enhance the game. Whips, riding crops, canes, hairbrushes, paddles, gloves, belts, and spanking benches can also be used.

Fun Fact:

Every Easter, people in the Czech Republic mark the holiday with a flogging ceremony. In what is viewed as a fertility rite, men chase women and strike them with pomlázkas (whips made of willow rods). Once whipped, the woman then gives the man a decorated Easter egg.