Christians and Pornography

Most people seem to assume that Christian Domestic Discipline fiction appeals mainly to Christians. I'm not sure that's true. My guess is that the people I write about - conservative Christians - are not reading this stuff. I might have some readers who are mainstream Christians, but I doubt their attraction to this type of fiction has much to do with their faith.

Now I'm also not sure I would consider what I write to be pornographic... and yet... it is definitely sexual for those who lean that way. It might even lead to self-pleasure, so... I don't know. Christian DD involves spanking, but it doesn't usually involve sex and definitely not explicit descriptions of sex. So it can't be porn, right? It can't even be considered erotic. 

So we've established that the audience for CDD is probably not Christian and that it isn't really pornographic. That makes my next question completely irrelevant, but I'll ask it anyway. It's my blog, and I can do what I want. 

Do Christians use porn? I'm thinking that in conservative groups, any use of pornography is done on the down-low and its discovery would be a problem. I'm thinking of a Kirk Cameron movie I watched once where he destroyed his computer with a baseball bat because it was tempting him to look at naked women. 

However if I went to my mainstream, protestant church building and asked a pastor about it, what would he or she say? 

It seems to me that the human body is made for sex and that viewing (or reading) sexual material fits right into our natural inclinations. And yet, too much porn can be a problem. If you are viewing porn instead of viewing, for example, your wife then maybe you should scale back. I've also heard of porn addiction. So yeah, if you are looking at naked people instead of going to work, that can't be good. And by extension if you are reading stories about spanking instead of going to work, that's a problem too. 

But you're not doing that, are you?

I personally think that sexual materials can be healthy for a relationship and can be useful for us lonely single guys and gals. I don't see the benefit, spiritual or otherwise, in denying your sexual nature. I just think you should be using it responsibly, and frankly masturbation is a whole lot more responsible than random hook-ups. Reading spanking fiction is even better. 

Rebeckah

Why Christian Domestic Discipline?

There are so many types of spanking fetishes and domestic discipline arrangements. There's your standard DD, your LDD (and even ALDD for those edgy types) and your Taken in Hand HOH stuff. All of these groups have their own devoted followers, and there is a lot of crossover as well.

But Christian Domestic Discipline seems to have a special effect on people. Simply adding the word Christian to the beginning of the phrase makes people, even very open minded spanking people, get nervous. I actually had one popular and wonderful spanking fiction writer decline to work with me because I wrote in "that" genre. 

The problem is that domestic discipline arrangements are typically seen by those who understand such things as an agreement that two partners make willingly as something they both want. Adding the C to DD seems to bring on a sense of non-consent and even domestic abuse. Many people seem to assume that CDD does not involve women making a free choice but rather being bullied by men who play the God card. 

I'm not crazy about the idea that Christian women are any less able to see when they are being abused than other women are, but that's another topic. But I am ready to ask a few questions, and I admit that I don't know all the answers. 

Is Christian Domestic Discipline real? 

Talk to a few spanking/ DD types and some will tell you that a truly domestic discipline relationship (one person in a relationship disciplines the other for real shortcomings, and there's nothing sexual about it) is possible. Others will say that there is just no way that it's not really about sex. 

Add Christian DD into that, and you'll find couples who say that they've made the decision to live this way. Sexual or not, it's consensual. But are there really people who live in a CDD relationship because they believe that women should submit to the discipline of a husband? After all, many Christian conservative circles site the benefits of wifely submission. It's not a big leap to take that to spanking. 

There have been accusations of wife spanking made in some pretty extreme religious communities (think the quiverfull movement), and there was recently a man from Pennsylvania who was prosecuted for spanking his wife. Are these isolated cases, or is this really happening?

What Does it Have to do With Fiction? 

My fictional heroes are not insecure wife-beaters desperately trying to control their homes through violence. They are loving husbands who believe in a firm hand. The former is not sexy to me, but the latter makes my motor run. 

My writing about spanking in a Christian context does not indicate that I encourage any type of lifestyle whatsoever, and I don't believe that fictional stories can cause people to do awful things. 

Why Does This Turn Me On?

So this is a more personal question and one that I don't know exactly how to answer. I have been a spanko since I was very small. I have memories of being fascinated with spanking as early as my preschool years.

When I was a kid, I had several friends who were being brought up in conservative Christian homes. They were all spanked, and they were all told that they were being spanked because God and their parents loved them. Contrast that with my family where no one spanked or otherwise paid much attention to me at all. Is that where my wires got crossed? That's my best guess. 

Putting a story in a religious context also gives you an artistic license to write about spankings that are not fully consensual. That's a big turn-off for some people. But I think it makes a piece of fiction a little edgy and a little bit sexier. 

There is a lot more to this discussion and I plan to think out loud about it here. In the meantime, I'm happy to have you reading, and I hope you like my stories. If it's not your thing, that's okay too. Its a good thing that we are all a little bit different and that our personal interests have a unique slant. 

Until next time, 

Rebeckah

The Satterfield Sisters & Hard to Handle

             My most recent short story is Hard to Handle. I wanted to write a story about someone who grew up in a conservative community that was removed from the modern world. That's when Ruthie Satterfield jumped into my mind.

              Ruthie is sweet. She loves her life and her family, but she's curious about the world beyond her community. She wants to hook up with a bad boy and get out of town, but her destiny turns in another direction. 

Here's a sample: 

Now she watched him from her elevated seat on the rock wall. She saw him laughing with some of the other young men and shaking hands with the older ones. Then, to her horror, he turned in her direction and waved.

Ruthie nearly fell off the wall. Brandon was suddenly coming toward her and she had nowhere to turn. She could climb back down the tree into the graveyard and sprint home from there, but she was afraid he knew who she was and would follow her.

She could climb down the wall and into the parking lot in a very ladylike fashion and act like she had some reason to be where she was. She didn’t have time to decide before Brandon reached her. He then held out his arms and lifted her from the wall.

“Hello there,” he said.

She tilted her head to look at him. Did he know who she was? “Hello,” she said, noncommittally.

“Ruth Satterfield,” he said with a grin.

So he did know. “Yes,” she answered. “And you are?”

Brandon laughed. “You know who I am, and I know you because you were a true brat as a kid.”

“You were a bully,” she replied.

He looked hurt, and Ruthie momentarily felt a pang of guilt. Then Brandon said, “You still hate me? All these years later?”

She refused to answer him.

He didn’t seem angry, just curious. “I figured by now you would have realized you deserved that little spanking.”

She turned away. She was not willing to get into a conversation with him at all, but especially not over that. The fact that he was right was irrelevant.

“Have it your way,” he said, almost happily. “But you are going to talk to me soon, Ruth Satterfield. I am determined to get to know you.”

She looked up at him, defiance in her eyes. She wondered what he had been told about her. “Apparently I’m hard to handle.”

He laughed out loud. “So I hear. But I like a challenge.”

She looked down at his cowboy boot and noted its lack of a steel toe. Then she picked up one of her heavy shoes, the same ones old Mrs. Burke had been so nasty about, and slammed it down onto Brandon’s foot. He howled, and she turned and ran. 

Soon after Ruthie popped into my mind, the rest of the Satterfield family began to take shape. There's Ruthie's overprotective mom and her strict but loving dad. Then there's Douglas, Ruthie's steady brother, and Kim, her spicy little sister. Then there's young Mattie, whose personality is just about to burst out. Twins Colin and Justin round out the family. Look for all of them in future stories. You might also get to know Emily, Brandon's strong willed little sister. 

Buy Hard to Handle here.