The Forum - Vol. 75

Hi all, and welcome to the weekend.   I'm posting this week's edition a bit early, because I am going to be out much of tomorrow and didn't want to leave anyone wondering, "Where the hell is he and where is my weekly fix of the Disciplined Husband's Forum?"

That was an intersting discussion last week. I can't say I know much more than I did before about whether or not most readers are subject to their wive's authority to such an extent that if she did order disclosure that he is a spanked husband, he would comply.  But, I know that virtually all of them who aren't already "out" think it is a bad idea and are really good at dodging the question on whether they would comply even if their wife were to deicide it really isn't such a bad idea.  :-)  So, let's chalk that topic up to an interesting idea that failed miserably in its implementation.

This week's topic relates to the most recently closed reader poll, which sought information on whether readers were spanked when growing up and, if so, how often and by whom.  This poll seemed to interest people a bit, as indicated by a fairly high response rate and by the fact that a large number of responses were entered shortly after I posted the poll.  Here are the results:

Spanked frequently	19 (14%)
Spanked but only infrenquently	69 (53%)
Never spanked	31 (24%)
Spanked by mother/not by father	26 (20%)
Spaned by father/not by mother	14 (10%)
Spanked by both	35 (27%)

I really did not have many preconceived notions about this one, and nothing in the results really surprises me that much.  Substantially more than half the responders were spanked to one extent or another, though only 14% were spanked frequently.  A healthy proportion, almost a full quarter of our viewers, were never spanekd at all.  Interestingly, the burdens of imposing discipline seem to fall somewhat harder on mothers than fathers, though a large number were spanked by both.

It should be obvious what I was trying to get at with this poll.  I wanted to see whether there was any clear link between being spanked growing up and being interested in it as an adult.  From these stats, I think it would be hard to make that leap.  So, since the data doesn't seem to go anywhere, how about the anecdotal evidence?  Do you think your own early experiences being disciplined lead to your adult interest in having it imposed on you, or for our Disciplinary Wives, your interest in imposing it on your husband?

I can see this one going either way, and my own experience seems somewhat at odds with any speculation that being spanked growing up tends to make you interested in it as an adult.  I was, in fact, spanked but not often.  I can only think of two or three total.  I'm sure there were more, but none worth remembering.  And, some of those that I do remember are enshrined in my memory more because of thebehavior that lead to them than the spanking itself.  But, it is also true that where I lived, spanking was just part of the background environment we were all raised in.  Parents spanked.  Teachers and principals spanked.  School spankings were actually the worst on several levels, because in addition to the primary spanking at school, conducted with the full knowledge of one's peers, one could often expect another licking at home as further piling on just to make sure the lesson about not acting up in school came through loud and clear.  Aunts and uncles spanked their nephews and nieces with just as much frequency and just as little sense of impropriety as with their own kids. So, while I don't recall being spanked very often, it was always in the background.

But, I do wonder sometimes whether the lack of regular spankings, and general lack of any kind of imposed discipline, especially any as I got older, did indirectly cause my later interest in DD.  As I recently related in a comment on another blog, I grew up without clear behavioral boundaries, to the point that by the time I was in high school I was, for all intents and purposes, living almost entirely by own rules.   Teenage boy's wet dream, right? Somtimes, but at a cost.  When there are no rules, and where the only consequences are those that are the natural result of your own behavior, that can be a lot of responsibility.  No one is there to literally whip you back into shape and put you on the right side of the line, so you either do it yourself, or keep doing whatever you're doing and hope catastrophe doesn't strike.  I do think that my adult desire for someone to impose consequences on me when I screw up may be tied to having too much freedom and suffering too few consequences early on.  I think it also may be why on the spectrum of being interested in spanking for its own sake versus seeing it as a tool to be used for larger disciplinary purposes, my inclinations are toward the latter.  But, of course, none of this explains why I had no interest at all in either spanking or DD unti well into my 30s, other than I had never really heard of DD until then.  And, my first glimmer of interest in this area involved a segment on a cable TV show about adult spanking, but not of the DD variety.  So, it is all very complicated.

So, tell us your thoughts on this.  I will ask of all of you, please self-censor where details are concerned.  There are undoubtedly people out there who get turned on by spankings of the non-adult variety, and I definitely do not want anything on here to faciliate that in any way.    

Dan

New Blog Recommendation

All,

It is a little depressing how few blogs there are out there that explore DD themes from the female perspective in the context of a F/m DD or FLR relationship.  For years, the Disciplinary Wives Club was about it.  There are plenty of blogs out there serving the Femdom community, a few FLR blogs though damn few authored by women, and very few that explore both FLR and DD, particularly within the context of real relationships.

But, one of our more recent commenters, Rhiannon, has a wonderful new blog that I hope you all will explore.  You will find a link on my sidebar to Learing and Living an FLR.  It is entertaining, incredibly intelligent and has, in its very short existence, raised a plethora of interesting relationship questions and issues.  I encourage all of you to drop by and say "hi," and welcom Rhiannon to the DD blogger community.

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 74

Happy Saturday all.  I hope you had a great week.  We had another great conversation last week, though it went in a direction very different from what I anticipated.  And, it was a rather telling one.  The topic was alternative punishments.  More specifically, alternatives to spanking.  I assumed we would have a lot of suggestions for alternatives, lots of stories about being subjected to various non-spanking forms of discipline, and maybe the seemingly inevitable tangential discussion around chastity.  But, very little of that actually happened.  Instead, the surprisingly strong consensus seemed to be a lack of interest in alternatives, and a strong desire to make spanking the exclusive means of discipline.  This seems to me to have inadvertently answered a question I have thrown out there in various ways in past posts, namely to what extent is discipline--changing behavior--the motivating factor in these relationships versus an interest in spanking that is as much an end as a means.  Clearly, each relationship has its own position in that spectrum, but I was surprised at just how vigorous and numerous were the viewpoints that spanking is not only central to the DD relationship, but that alternatives might be counter-productive.

Anyway, it was a good discussion, and there was another aspect of it that caught  my attention.  When one commenter reacts to another commenter on this blog, they are often forced to preface it with something to the effect of, "I am responding to the anonymous commenter who said . . ."  If there is anything that is clear about our Forum participants, it is that--with a few exceptions like the Merrys--we place an extraordinary value on our anonymity.  A very large majority still post without using even a fake profile and, to my knowledge, we have only one reader who maintains a blog that uses her real picture in that profile such that, for all intents and purposes she is "out" as being on the receiving end of a spanking relationship.  And, there is nothing at all wrong with any of this, and this post is in no way meant to challenge it.  If anonymity is the grease that keeps the conversation going for all of us, then the more of it the better.

But, this week's question asks you to engage in a bit of "what if" exploration, that also may again test a bit the extent to which some of us talk a good game about submitting to our wife's authority. The question is, what if your partner told you they wanted to be more openly in charge?  What if they told you that they want it be clear to anyone who is watching and interested that she wears the pants?  Not necessarily a public announcement that you are in an FLR relationship, but outward actions that leave no doubt about it. And, what if that included her disclosing to anyone she chooses that she spanks you?

How would you react?  Would there be some groups you would be OK coming out to, but not others?  And, which of those do you find more discomforting (to the extent you do find this topic discomforting), the prospect of being outed as being in a relationship led by your spouse and in which you are the junior party, or being outed as being spanked?  That distinction may itself be telling about where we think our society is in terms of both gender equality and openness to kink because, it says a lot if people are coming to see spanking as socially acceptable but there is still a stigma around a man taking second place to his wife in the decision-making hierarchy.

Speaking for my own relationship, as a practical matter, I don't think either of us is ready for being truly open about the DD aspects of our relationships, or the FLR aspects to the extent we really are practicing FLR.  But, pracicality and real life likelihood really weren't part of my question, were they? The question was, "What if your spouse TOLD you that THEY WANT to be open about it?"  What if this were the direction that your partner--the partner who some of you have agreed will act as head of your household and exercise final decision making authority--told you that this is what she wants and that she expects you to comply?" Would you do it?

For myself, it would make the decision quite a lot easier if two groups could be magically walled off from the disclosure: work colleagues and my parents.   On the workplace issue, given the profession I am in, I do think there could be a significant downside for my career if it were commonly known that my wife spanks me for disciplinary purposes.  Yet, paradoxically, a comment by Anna a few weeks ago about the feedback she gets from some of Peter's work colleagues about his behavior in that venue left me really wishing that such feedback were available to my wife, because work related temper problems and an unwillingness to submit to authority have definitely had a negative impact on my upward progress.  So, while I find the idea of being outed in any way in that context extremely upsetting, I also recognize that not being out about it also has a negative consequence.

Now, again, as a practical matter, it is very unlikely that my wife would ever "out" our disciplinary relationship. But, again, for this week's topic, we're not dealing in reality.  We are playing a game of "what if . . ."  So, let's explore that a bit.

Have  a great week.

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 73

Good morning everyone.  Is it just me, or did we have a great discussion last week?  When we only had two comments by Saturday night, I thought perhaps it was another that I found interesting but no one else did, but once it got some momentum, it was great. I hope you had a great week. 

While our weekly discussion was great, the week itself left me tired.  And, some of that was my own fault.  I had a business trip, including meeting a customer for a "a drink" and then "a" drink turned into several.  It wasn't hugely excessive, but it was enough to leave me tired, cranky and off my game,  Therefore, I will be self-reporting to Disciplinary Wife tonight and, assuming no distractions or interruptions, my bottom will be paying the price in the form of her stern discipline, to make up for my own lack of self-discipline.

So, while spanking may be on my mind most of the day as I think about what awaits me, this week's topic covers everything but spanking.  Specifically, let's talk about the role that other forms of punishment can play in DD.  I don't really have a lot to add to this conversation, at least in terms of actual experience.  Disciplinary Wife and I have talked from time to time about exploring non-corporal punishments, but she has never really followed through.  The one we talk about most often is the possibility of her "grounding" me, like we sometimes did as punishment for our own kids.  Because we've never followed up on it, the parameters of such punishment have always been left somewhat vague, but it might mean something like barring me from socializing with work colleagues for some period of time,  Something along those lines.

What about you?  Have you and your partner implemented any non-spanking punishments?  Tell us all about them.   I'd also be curious to hear whether they have been more or less effective than spanking in effecting real change.  It has occurred to me that, in my particular case, they might actually prove more effective than a hard paddling, because as we discussed last week, I really, really hate the "service submission" thing,  So, perhaps making me do a tedious chore for some period of time, or serve her in some particularly annoying or humiliating way.

Even if you have not been subjected to any such punishments, let's put those creative minds to work coming up with some ideas that might be explored.

I hope you all have a great week.

The Forum - Vol. 72

Hello all.  Well, have we all gotten back into the swing of things after the holidays?  I'm not quite there yet, but all good things must end.

This week's topic touches on some things we've talked about before, but I don't think I've presented it quite this way before and, even if I have, I now have a new personal context for it.  The question is:  As you have handed over more control or authority to your spouse as part of Domestic Discipline or FLR relationship, have they ever taken things in a direction you didn't anticipate, were not ready for, or didn't like?

I raise this now, because it has happened in my own relationship over the last few months.  As I have alluded to a few times, last year we talked about exploring something a little closer to an FLR relationship, with her exercising more dominance on a daily basis and in areas that didn't really have anything to do with correcting bad behavior.  It does not come naturally for me but, of course, if I enjoyed it then it woudn't really be an act of submission to her control  -- it would just be something that fills my own needs or desires.  But, my wife, on the other hand, is displaying signs of liking the "service" aspect of FLR, so there is a good likelihood that she will keep it up. thereby making 2015 a challenging year for me.

How about everyone else?  Tell us about any instance in which your spouse took the relationship in a direction you weren't really prepared for or had a hard time accepting.

I hope you have a great week.

Dan

DWC Update and a New Reader Poll

For those who are interested, an anonymous commenter left an update on one of my previous posts bemoaning the loss of the Disciplinary Wives Club website when it was taken down.  It appears that it is back up and running, and available at:  http://auntkaysdwc.com/abegin.htm.

I've also posted a new poll.  This seeks to get at the extent to which being spanked when we were growing up correlates with adult interest in spanking and discipline.

The Forum - New Year's Eve 2014 Special Edition

Season's Greetings one and all. I hope you've had great holiday, and I hope you enjoy the waning hours of 2014.  Safely and responsibly.

A common theme that unites many couples practicing Domestic Discipline is self-improvement and, for the Disciplinary Wives, giving their hubbies and significant others that extra little motivation required to address all those nagging little behavior problems.  Which fits in very nicely with that New Year's tradition -- making resolutions.

I like resolutions.  I like setting goals. I know I won't always hit them, but it's amazing what you can accomplish over time if you are able to improve incrementally day by day, week by week, year by year. On the other hand, I admit to being a little depressed when I look back at old blog and journal entries and realize that I seem to wrestle with some of the same challenges year after year.  But, hope springs eternal and, therefore, here are a few of my resolutions for 2015, some focused on general improvement and others related more specifically to our Domestic Discipline lifestyle.  I also have provided a list of resolutions that I am going to ask my wife to adopt, since ultimately my success in carrying out my resolutions may prove to be a function of that extra motivation she supplies to my upturned bottom.

In the spirit of "I'll show you mine if you show me yours . . ." here goes. I invite you to share your resolutions and those you would like to see applied to you, for your and her benefit, by your Disciplinary Wife (or husband for our few Disciplined Wives).

General Resolutions

 I hereby resolve to:

• have fewer Saturdays spent regretting my Friday work-related socializing
• earn to better control my temper at work
• nurture those important relationships, both work and personal, that sometimes don't get the time or attention they deserve
• Exit 2015 in better physical shape than I entered into it, as measured by pant size, blood pressure, strength and endurance

Domestic Discipline Resolutions

I hereby resolve to:

• self-report any infractions at least weekly
• empower my wife to grow in her disciplinary authority, including by showing more outward signs of submission to her control
• during spankings, instead of "taking it like a man," try hard to let go all ego and control, surrendering totally to her authority

The Forum - Vol. 71

Hi all.  Can't you just feel 2014 winding down.  I hate to speak ill of the almost departed, but I have to admit, it has seemed like a challenging year in a lot of ways.  And while the holidays usually are my favorite time of year, this time they kind of snuck up on me, and work seems to be accelerating as we go into year-end, while all I really want is to veg out in front of a the Christmas tree with a big glass of wine.  But, some years are like that and, despite presenting some challenges, my nuclear family all made it through the year in one piece and in relatively good health and spirits.  And, that alone is much to be thankful for.

On to this week's question, which I offer in the spririt of the season (I also apologize in advance to those of our readers who don't celebrate Christmas):  Have you ever given or received a spanking or DD-themed Christmas gift?  And, what spanking  or DD gift would you most like to find under your tree Christmas morning?  At our house, Mrs. Disciplined Hubby will be getting a new rubber strap in her stocking.  While it is a practical gift, I suspect she will like it much more than a new frying pan.

I may take a break next week in honor of the Holiday Season, so here is wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 70

Hi all.  Sorry for the late start.  It's been a crazy couple of days, including some things that kept me busy and unable to post until now.  So, let's get to it.

This week's topic is a follow-up to last week's, which focused on tears.  Respecting Mistress suggested this related question:   

What happens in the relationships where the husband does end up weeping? What kind of reaction does he get from his wife? How does his wife feel seeing him weeping? Is there any loss of respect from him - or does increase with her knowing he's taken his punishment. How does he feel towards her for 'breaking' him?" 

Let's broaden a litte so it is not quite as focused on tears.  For those who have been brought to tears, "broken," or otherwise brought to an actual surrender to your wife's authority in a way that hadn't occurred until the, what was the effect of that on both of you?  How did you feel?  Happy?  Peaceful? Or, was there any resentment or a new sense of respect tinged with some fear or anxiety?  Wives, how did you feel the first time you saw that unmistakable evidence that you had really gontten your point across?

Sorry again for the delayed start.   

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 69

Hello all.

I hope you had a great week and have girded yourselves to brave the holiday shopping crowds.  I am so far behind this year, I'm dreading walking around aimlessly, hoping that the one great gift for each person in my life will just magically present itself, thereby saving me from resorting to the dreaded gift card.  Given my behavior, I know what I should be getting, repeatedly, before, during and after Christmas, if Santa Claus really does separate us into Naughty and Nice groupings.

We have now closed another poll, and this one has a special resonance for me.  The topic was tears, specifically, have you ever been brought to tears by an adult spanking.  And, if so, was it just a few small tears of full-blown sobbing.  The results are:

No	49 (48%)
Yes - only a few tears	26 (25%)
Yes - real sobbing	27 (26%)

Once again, our poll results are somewhat counter to what I would have predicted.  I have always suspected that if there was one area where disciplinary fantasy disconnects from disciplinary reality, it probably was crying.  Reading about "real" disciplinary spankings in forums like the Disciplinary Wives Club, one would think that vritually every well-delivered disciplinary spanking leave the husband racked with sobs and free-flowing tears.  Yet, the last time we covered this topic (early in the history of this blog), most of the commenters indicated they had not been brought to tears.  We now have a bit more critical mass, and the results above may be a little more indicative of what happens in real life, and I am a little suprised that the distibution is almost 50-50 between the tearful and non-tearful.  I also am very surprised that over a quarter of respondents say they have been reduced to real sobs.

I said this topic has some special resonance for me.  To such an extent that the prospect of crying was probably the most significant driver of the emotional reaction I had when I discovered the DWC website.  The stories of men being brought to tears over their wives knees fascinated me and had an undeniable attraction, but it was an attraction that was also utterly and completely terrifying.  The thought of letting go of control so thoroughly that I would sob in front of my wife while she paddled me was anxiety-inducing to an extent that is really hard to over-estimate.   Yet, the prospect of experiencing that kind of catharsis was also a major impetus for my decision to broach the topic of DD with her.  But, in doing so, I really did half-hope that she would not be interested, because the prospect of being brought to tears just terrified me so much.

So, here we are many years later, and I still have not cried, even as the result of spankings that I think anyone would acknowledge fall into the "severe" range.  While it is all speculation on my part, I think there are many things that account for it, including:  (1) I have a lead bottom and a weirdly high pain threshold; (2) my wife doesn't do a lot of stern lecturing beforehand, which might reduce mey resistance emotionally before the spanking even starts; (3) deep-seated fear of embarrassment that keeps me from quite letting go fully and completely; (4) spankings that are severe in terms of impact but not always in terms of duration, because my bottom starts to bleed (usually very minor, but enough that it makes her stop).

Alan alluded to that last one in his comment yesterday, as I do think that one thing that would help me get to the point of actual release is the prospect that a spanking that I am already having a hard time taking is likely to go on, and on and on.  I also think the choice of tool can be important, because some of our bigger, "thuddier" paddles tend to make my bottom go numb pretty quickly, which is counter-productive.

Alan also talked about his wife's reaction to tears and that she not only is comfortable with him crying but encourages it.  My wife and I have discussed this several times, and I think her attitude has progressed a lot as she has become more comfortable in her role, going from acknowledging that my crying might disturb her because it it shows is hurting me "too much," to getting over that and being OK if I do cry at some point, to mildly disappointed that it has not happened yet.

So, with that very long-winded opening, tell us your situation, hopes and fears where tears are concerned.  Have you been brought to tears?  Would you like to be?  If you have, were there certain things that enabled you to get there? If not, what do you think is holding you back?

I hope you all have a great week.

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 68

Hi all.  I hope all of our U.S. readers had a great Thanksgiving, including time off with friends and family.

So, I got a little testy with a fellow blogger this week who had a post suggestion that "repeated spankings" were an indication that the DD relationship was "just a game," and going on at length  about what he saw as the supposed irrationality of adult spankings.  And criticizing one commenter for wanting to be reduced to a sobbing mess, while this same blogger has posted about hs own desire to be "broken."  But, perhapsn I am being to harsh.  What was it Hobbes said about "a foolish consistency . . ."? 

But, as someone who has gone through the process of discovering DD and overcoming my trepidation about asking for it, then watching what it has done for us and for my wife's growing sense of empowerment in particular, I tend to get a little annoyed by people who haven't actually experienced it but feel free to cut loose with criticisms and opinions regarding motivations that they themselves have not felt and, therefore, don't understand.  It is especially annoying when the criticism comes from segments of the Femdom community who insist DD is "just a game," as in a spanking fetish, or in some way irrational or weird, while their own relationships are just as out of step with adult norms and tend to come dressed up with all sorts of "weird" accoutrements that they see as totally rational. 

Whatever.

But, my biggest annoyance is with myself for responding in anger and doing it on someone else's blog.  I really need to stop doing that, because in the end, people can voice whatever opinions they want on their own blog, well-informed or otherwise.  Which, is why I stopped short of saying some of the above as a comment on his blog but now feel free to say it on mine.

But, there was a serious question lurking in that post that got me riled:  If you do find yourself being spanked repeatedly for the same offense, why is that?  Is it because for you DD really IS just a game?   Could there be a part of you that doesn't want the behavior to stop because the spankings might stop?  Or, maybe the bad behavior is a long-term habit that you can't break despite your best efforts?  Perhaps your wife keeps moving the bar and applying discipline for smaller variations of the offense?  Or, perhaps the discipline is not hard enough, long enough or consistent enough to give you the incentive you need to really stop. 

So, what is keeping you stuck in that bad behavioral rut that DD won't fix?  Or, have you had that problem in the past but figured out a way to deal with it?

Dan

The Forum - Vol. 67

Hi all.  I hope you all had a good week.  I'm in th middle of a major storm at work, so I apologize in being less than thorough and prompt in responding to comments last week.  I will try to remedy that over the weekend.

In the meatime, this week's topic relates to one of our recent polls, which asked about who initiated the disciplinary relationship.  Like the poll on the ages at which people start DD, this one was, in a word, lopsided:

Discipline receiver	107 (84%)
Discipline giver	20 (15%)

 Unlike the poll on ages, however, this one doesn't surprise me.  And, the results are reinfoced by many of the comments from last week regarding DD "surprises," many of which talked about the fact that the male initieated the DD relationship, but the female soon became an enthusiastic participant.

One thing that does amuse me a bit about these results is it does suggest that a lot of the stories out there regarding DD beginnings, including unfortunately much of the content from the old Disciplinary Wives Club, is probably more fantasy than reality, as many of the stories involve the wives initiating the DD or FLR relationship in response to exasperation with the husband's behavior, but our poll results suggest that instances of female-initiated DD may be few and far between>

So, this week, give us any thoughts you may have on why the numbers are so lopsided.  Why is is usually the man initiating, particularly given all the advantages DD seems to hold for the women, and also given the leaps and bounds women have made in recent years when it comes to assertiveness in the workplace and hte professional world.  Also, take a moment to share your own initiation story and most importantly why you--be you reciver or giver in the DD relationship--initiated.

Have a great week!

Dan

The Forum - Weekly Topic #66 and New Poll

Hi all.  Off to a bit of a slow start this morning.  So, let's get to it.

First, thanks to Fred, George, Katie, Leigh, RB, JJ, Abby and an Anonymous poster for participating in our first  Love our Lurkers event here at the Disciplined Husbands Forum.  I may do some less formal invitations from time to time if helps make some of our regular but silent visitors more comfortable with participating. 

This week's topic comes from an anonymous commenter on last week's topic. I had intended to use it in a week or two, but I decided to jump right tto it this week, as I think it is is a really great one.  Here it is, as she wrote it:

"What surprised you about the way the DD or FLR relationship turned out? What happened that you didn't expect or didn't happen that you did expect?  In my case, I would list several. I expected that I would feel guilty about spanking my husband. I didn't. I didn't expect to enjoy giving a spanking. I do (and I sometimes feel guilty about that). I didn't expect us both to get a restless feeling when too much time passed without any behavior that deserved a spanking. We undertook it with the idea of it changing him. I have probably changed more than he has."

Those last two sentences really resonate with me in terms of how our relationship has progressed, but I'll go into that a bit later.  In the meantime, please tell us all about the role the unexpected has played in your DD journey.

Also, I've posted a new reader poll that addresses a topic that has always inspitred both dread and fascination in me: being spanked to actual tears.  If it wasn't clear, this poll is aimed at spanking receivers, as I don't really care whether someone who does not actually get disciplinary or punishment spankings has never been broght to tears by one.  We'll talk about this one after the poll results are in.

Have a great weekend.

Dan

Love Our Lurkers

Hi all.  Welcome to the 9th Annual Love Our Lurkers day.  In a nutshell, it is a day for us to celebrate, and encourage, all those who drop by our blogs regularly but never leave a comment.  For a more fulsome explanation of the concept, please to to Hermione's wonderful blog:  http://hermionesheart.blogspot.de/2014/10/love-our-lurkers-days-are-coming-soon.html.  While I encourage our lurkers to take give our weekly topics a try, on Love our Lurkers day, any comment will do.  Just stop by and say hi. 

To give you an idea of the ratio between lurkers and active commenters, we probably have about a dozen of the latter (if that), but this blog is up to around 800 visitors a day, with close to 1400 last Saturday.

So, please drop us a line!

The Forum Weekly #65

Hi all.  Hope you had a great week. Our discussions from the last two weeks had an interesting dynamic. While last week's topic was focused on what the women in our lives get out of DD, the topic from two weeks ago--pre-spanking orgasms and removing the sexual aspect from the discipline--kept spilling into the new topic.  It obviously held a lot of interest for a lot of people, and it's great that the discussion took on a life of its own.

As for this week, I had some time by myself last night, and I thought that maybe I should get a  jump on our weekly topic, so I could free up some time on what was going to be a busy Saturday.  I was even thinking about posting it on Friday night so more visitors would have a chance to get to it early on their Saturdays, especially our surprisingly large contingent of visitors from the UK.  (The whole "English Vice" thing might be a topic to explore in the future.)

But, my plans to get an early start on the post were frustrated by an impenetrable case of writer's block.  Really more like "topic block."  I keep a running list of possible topics, but for some reason none of them had the slightest appeal, or they were things  I wanted to lay the groundwork for with some reader polling before  jumping into the discussion.  In any event, I gave up, hoping that inspiration would hit me over night.  In a way it did, but we'll see if others feel this is a topic worth exploring, since the last time I tried a variation of it, it kind of flopped.  But, we have a larger, more engaged group of contributors now, so maybe it will generate at least a little interest.

The topic is a little nebulous (intentionally so) but it focuses on spreading the word about the advantages of domestic discipline, and also about whether we suspect there are others in our lives who are already practicing either DD or some kind of Female Led Relationship.

Let's start with the former.  When I started this blog, it was really about satisfying my own need to communicate. But, I admit that I do sometimes have higher ambitions for it, such as hoping that it does entice someone somewhere who isn't currently in an FLR or DD relationship to try domestic discipline, similar to the role the Disciplinary Wives Club played for me.  I am a genuine believer in the value of DD and its ability to change the dynamic in a marriage in a very positive way.  For that reason, I have from time to time felt a compulsion to tell others about it.  To date, there is only one person who I have told directly and openly about our lifestyle.   I told her for the most part because we were close friends and it was just one of those relationship things that came out.  But, I also had the zeal of the convert at that stage and felt the need to do some evangelizing.

So, part of this week's topic is, are there people in your life who you would really like to tell about DD, even if you don't think you ever would in real life?  Maybe a couple who is struggling and the dynamic is such that her taking some control over him might help?  Maybe you have a stressed-out, controlling Alpha co-worker who could profit from having to surrender to some wifely power?  Maybe you have a female friend or co-worker who could grow leaps and bounds if she would take up the paddle or hairbrush and use it liberally to assert herself over her spouse?  And, to make this a little more fun, if you did want to let these people know about the advantages of DD, any thoughts on how you might go about doing that, stealthily or otherwise?

And, conversely, are there people in your life who you think may already be in an FLR or DD relationship?  If so, what makes you suspect it?

Have a great week!  Also, my case of writer's block really was frustrating, so please pitch in with any ideas for future topics.  I do realize that at some point we just have to live with recycling topics, but I'm not sure we are quite at that point yet.

Dan

The Forum - Weekly Topic #63

Hi all.  Happy belated Halloween!  I hope you all had a great time last night, whether with the kids or engaged in more "adult" activities.

I thought we had a great discussion last week.  Some of the couples have clearly taken discipline to that "next" level, where it is all about the discipline and punishment, with most of the eroticism removed.  At least for the person on the receiving end of the paddle or strap or cane.

And that brings us to this week's topic.  Things like requiring an orgasm before discipline or denying sex afterward are clearly designed to make sure that a disciplinary spanking is really punishment.  But, that is from the receiver's perspective.  What about the giver?  What does the Disciplinary Wife get out of the disciplinary relationship, and is it based at all in sex or eroticism?  And, does it change over time? For example, maybe a wife starts out in DD by complying, somewhat skeptically and tentatively, with her husband's request to be disciplined.  Maybe it begins with her trying to give him what he thinks he needs or what she thinks will help the marriage.  That's the way it started out for us.  But, over time, that has changed.  While I don't think my Disciplinary Wife fits into the category of "Sadist," because I don't think she enjoys inflicting pain or watching someone else receive it, over time she has very much to come to enjoy the power associated with directing me to go to the basement, strip naked, and present myself for a spanking.  And, while most of her delight in it seems to be connected to the exercise of power and authority, it does increasingly have a sexual component.

But, for others, perhaps the desire to dominate and exercise authority has been there from the beginning. And, a few are true Sadists.

So, what motivates your disciplinary wife to be that disciplinarian, and what keeps them at it year after year.  And, how has it changed over time, if at all?

Have a great weekend!

Dan

The Forum - Weekly Topic #62

Hi all.  I hope you had a great week and are out enjoying the October weather.  I am getting off to a bit of a slow start today, so let's get to it. 

This week's topic is about sex. Got your attention, didn't I? 

But, I'm about to spoil it.  Instead of talking about sex and DD, let's talk about efforts to remove the sexual component from discipline?  Is sex inextricably bound up in your disciplinary efforts or, on the other hand, have you tried to remove it in order to make the discipline just that -- discipline.  For example, do you ban sex after a spanking?  Some people also advocate "milking", i.e. requiring masturbation before the spanking in order to remove the sexual component from the spanking itself and to remove the sex as an offset to the pain of a real disciplinary spanking.

So, let us know what efforts, if any, you make to segregate spanking and sex.

Have a great week.

Dan

New Poll: Who Got This Party Started

Folks, just a quick note.  I have posted a new poll.  This one is the essence of simplicity.  For those who are in a domestic discipline relationship, who initiated it -- the party receiving the discipline or the party giving it?  Given this blogs orientation toward F/m disciplinary relationships, the receiver would usually be the male and the giver the woman, but I didn't want exclude responses from those visitors who may be practicing M/f domestic discipline.  And, I would like to keep this one focused on DD, not spanking in general, because the relationship dynamics may be very different and, for this poll, I'm interested in hearing from those who are practicing DD, not spanking for purely erotic or entertainment purposes.

Dan

The Forum - Weekly Topic #61

Hello all.  I hope you had a good week and are enjoying what is proving to be, in my neck of the woods, a really gorgeous Autumn. 

Our poll related to professions is closed, so let's make that the subject of this week's Forum.  The results are in, and they are:

Doctor/Medical Provider	3 (2%)
Lawyer	13 (12%)
Accountant	4 (3%)
Teacher	5 (4%)
Other Profession	14 (13%)
Business Executive	12 (11%)
Business Non-Executive	5 (4%)
Engineer/Technology	17 (15%)
Business Owner	16 (14%)
Other	18 (16%)

Admittedly, this poll was about as unscientific as it could possibly be, suffering from among other things, a small sample size, a self-selected set of respondents, selection bias on the part of its author in choosing the categories, and probably a host of other problems that a trained statistician could point out.   But, even with a sample of only 107 self-selected respondents, a few interesting points worth discussing emerge.

First, members of the medical community either are not very interested in domestic discipline, do not visit domestic discipline or spanking oriented blogs very often, or are very shy when it comes to filling out polls.  I am, I admit, a bit puzzled by that one, because I have always believed that DD appeals to a lot of Alpha Males and guys with "control freak" tendencies or high-pressure jobs, and the medical profession seems to be chock full of those.  Or maybe I'm just projecting the attributes that seem to drive my own DD-oriented needs onto others.

Among those who are into DD, lawyers, business executives and business owners are over represented.  I also am a little surprised at how many engineers and technology professionals are represented, as I don't associate that group with the Alpha Male and "controller" archetypes that I usually associate with DD.  But, again, that observation may be, and likely is, no more than my own biases shining through.  Of course, the biggest problem with this poll is that the percentages may not reflect relative interest or participation in DD as much as being in a profession or personal situation that lends itself to having time and freedom to explore the blogosphere and find things like our Disciplined Husbands Forum.

Finally, "other" and "other professional" are, in combination, the largest block of respondents.  Which could indicate either that we have a very diverse group of visitors to this blog or that I did a really poor job of selecting job categories and left out one or two large segments of the DD community.

So, let's focus on that as part of this week's topic:  For those who are willing to share, what job, career or profession are YOU in, and what, if any, connection do you think there is between that job and your interest in DD?  Did the same personality factors that lead you into that career also influence your interest in DD?  For instance, if you are inclined to submit to your wife's authority, are you similarly submissive to authority at work.  Or, is the inverse true and you feel attracted to DD as a way of giving up the control you exercise on the job or, particularly for our Disciplinary Women, does exercising power and control in your marriage reflect any power dynamics in your work life?

I know that talking about jobs and professions may be sensitive for some, given that many do not want to reveal too much about themselves.  If there are sensitivities on that score (and there are for me), I would suggest posting your comment anonymously and not signing the name or pseudonym you usually use when participating in this blog. 

The Forum - Week #60

Hello all.  Happy Saturday.  Another beautiful fall day where I live.  I hope you all had a good week.  A few weeks ago, one of our community members sent me an email with a topic suggestion.  (I'm not using his name because I'm not sure whether he is OK with me doing that.)  His suggested topic is one I will use in the future, but what intrigued more was that he told me he is a success coach who incorporates spanking into his coaching sessions.

Now, setting aside that that has to be about the coolest job in the entire world, it suggested an interesting topic regarding non-traditional uses of DD.  In our household, discipline is used primarily to correct bad behavior.  I do something wrong or make Disciplinary Wife angry, and she punishes that behavior.

But, what about using spanking as a motivator for positive behavior or performance enhancement.  Maybe you need to lose some weight and aren't good at sticking to an exercise routine.

 Or maybe you didn't perform at your best in some contest, and your wife helps make sure there is a consequence for giving less than your best effort.

 Disciplinary Wife and I have talked a lot about incorporating more such "motivational discipline" into our DD lifestyle, but we never seem to really make it happen.  How about you?  Does your disciplinarian (spouse or otherwise) act as a "success coach"?  Do you want her to?

Have a great weekend.

Dan