I suppose it would be kind to leave a warning here before you start. Many, if not all, of the links (and pictures) in this series of posts are totally NSFW. If you want to have a look, do, by all means, but don’t be surprised if you find naked boy bits at the other end . . . or girl bits.
Happy? Let’s go.

Last week, I defined (ish) what discilipline involves in the context of BDSM. Today, it makes sense to talk about punishments. I’ll also mention right now that this isn’t an exhaustive list. As with any other aspect of BDSM, dicipline and punishment depend wholly on those involved and what their likes and dislikes are. For me, ultimate punishment would be a shopping trip to buy high heels with pointy toes, or a trip to Tate Modern . . . just saying.

Pain

Credit: Sponchia

This seems like an obvious one. Pain by way of whipping, caning, spanking, slapping or even biting. More extreme examples include cutting and electrical stimulation play (E-stim). The important thing to note here is that pain, while usually something to be avoided, is closely linked to pleasure. In the right circumstances and in the right doses I believe the pair can get muddled. I’ve certainly written about that happening to characters of mine. Additionally, pain used in this manner isn’t (or shouldn’t be) for the hell of it, but related to the infraction and measured according to its severity.

Restriction of Privileges

Orgasm denial, restriction of eye contact and forbidding other smaller sexual activities also land on the punishment scale. These tools can be used to draw an unruly submissive ‘back into line.’

Forced Pleasure

Credit: Oliver Gruener

Seems like an odd ‘punishment’ but I’ve heard tell of submissives brought to multiple orgasms to the point that they become painful. It seems a curious thing to turn pleasure into a punishment— to overdose if you will—but, given that I should be working on the next ‘Slippers & Chains’ novella, it’s certainly something I’d like to explore in more detail, as the psychological aspect of all these activities (as I continue through the series) is fascinating.

Humiliation

I will touch on this more in the SM section of these posts, but sexual humiliation and degradation can be used as a punishment tool. Indeed, to someone not at all involved in the BDSM scene, it may seem like the only possible application of humiliation is punishment, but I’ll mention that to be sexually humiliated and/or degraded is a source of great arousal for some people.

Verbal Scolding

Yes, I know, putting this at the bottom of the list seems a little crazy (and out of place?) but sometimes a very simple ‘That was a naughty thing to do’ is a great punishment. No need to shout, or spank or name-call; just expressing disappointment is a powerful tool. Parents do it with the children all the time, I’m sure there are psychological similarities from a BDSM point of view.