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From Spanking Art

• Interviewer: Spankart
• Interviewee: RobM
• Date: 2 April 2008

[edit] Interview

Spankart: Hello RobM, I very much appreciate the chance to learn more about you through this interview. I understand you are a great fan and collector of anime?

RobM: Oh, I think so - a fan, certainly. At Plymouth university I *briefly* started an AnimeSoc allied to the GameSoc. Sadly it got annihilated by lack of interest. Signed up about fifty members at the Freshers Fair... who promptly never turned up to the first or subsequent meetings. I didn't fancy the university bureaucracy was worth it for the four people I had already made good friends with by then just to be able to meet on campus... So we never bothered much after the second month of trying to get more people to care and just met up in my small room. I'm sure there's a huge anime community in Devonshire - they're just lazy as hell. As for my own collections; I don't think it's too big. I know a lot of people can wax lyrical for hours about how many shelves they'd filled. I've filled three - thats DVDs, Manga and Models combined with a few wall-scrolls. I've got about all the anime I'm ever going to collect right now.

S: Which series do you like best?

R: Coo, tricky question after my ultimate favourite. I love the series Macross7, it's by far the best I've ever seen and the longest of the Robotech/macross series. Some 50 episodes, two movies, two OVAs and loads of extras. There's something about a pacifist extroverted anarchist rock musician that sings at demonic-esque beings from another dimension to stop fighting and war between them and some human colonists... in space... with mecha. That makes my heart sing. It's an amazingly good series. Unsuprisingly, the first spanking picture I ever drew was of Mylene, the main female lead.

S: You are a multi-talented creative fan who approaches the topic of spanking from various angles. What do you like best, writing, drawing, or combining the two?

R: Well, thank you for the compliment of "talented" although I don't think I quite resemble that remark. I'm an Author by preference which is why most of my drawings are in fact comics - I want to tell a story and I think in panel format I can get it across best. Oddly, I usually only draw fanart of canon characters but never write it. I only write with original characters, although I'm happy to set it in canon universes I'll stay far, far away from any canon characters who ordinarily live in them.

I don't normally combine the two myself... but who doesn't love getting fanart of their own original characters from other, better artists?

S: Do you find that anime and spanking are "made for another"? Anime is very versatile - but does it have intrinsic aspects that make it better suited for spanking stories and scenarios than other art forms?

R: I don't think thats true at all, really. Anime is like... well, a medium not like books or movies, there isn't one particular defining characteristic of 'anime' at all since different series come from different genres from action to romance to childrens shows and sports - all have their different appeals.

Interestingly, I note that even though Anime comes from the highly formalised Japan they seem to lack aspects or scenarios that lead straight to discipline as it might be known to older spankos in the BDSM community, especially those I've met who grew up with wonderful books like Jennings. Formalised Discipline would be the typical and oh-so-enjoyable Headmaster/Student scene, usually with a cane. Formalised Japan would suit that well, but Anime seems judging by the overwhemingly vast majority of fanart based on existing Canon anime characters to be punishments between parent/child... or the Sempai angle. Quite literally, an older-sibling idea, punishments carried out in-situ but utterly informal and quite domestic. Compared to so something like... the older comics of America in the 1950s or the British schoolboy Books and even the cartoons such as Oor Wullie or Dennis the Menace of the same period I'd find it REALLY hard to hold Anime up as superior or better suited in comparison to other media.

As I say, Anime is perhaps more informal, given to large, character driven punishments by older-brother/sister characters or highly 'respected' characters who have responsibilty to punish, but don't require discipline. This is all my take on the subject, of course.

S: Do you think the great popularity of anime spanking sites in recent years is just due to the fact that the current generation of young spankos from, say, 15 to 25, *happens* to overlap a lot with the anime fandom?

R: I think the popularity is definitely due to the young age, the intense media culture that Japanophiles and anime fans usually sink into is a major part of the interest... of course, that's not to say that all "Anime spanking" fans are either below the age of 25 or that every spanko under the age of 25 is into some kind of media - I know several anime fans older than that who are definitely spankos. Given the age range I'm aware of since we live in an aging society I'd raise that suggested age range to 15-30 at least. I'm pushing 24 right now and I've hardly scratched the surface of spanking as a lifestyle.

I think a lot of overlap does occur with spanking in anime though. Not unlike the old cartoons and comics spanking does infrequently occur in anime and the Japanese certainly arn't unaware of the concept. Many of my older friends in the London spanking community never had... well, they just didn't have the internet forty or more years ago so there was always a degree of "Am I the only one?" back then. Or so I'm told. This is going back quite a while I know but spanking but then - at least in Britian - was a formal affair in the schools and the majority of references for the previous generation of spankos came from that. Scenes from the aforementioned Jennings or some of Enid Blytons books especially. They were to the previous generation what the infamous Ikkitousen scene is to mine, at least as far as Anime goes.

The popularity of Anime Spanking sites is probably only going to increase as Anime becomes more popular and mainstream in the west. I'm quite 100% sold on the idea that spankos are nature and not nurture so to my mind every person who is a spanko is going to reach out for fetish to the things around them. Even at aged nine I remember seeking a few spanking scenes in the older books (did I mention my favouite: Jennings, yet?)... a full seven years before I actually realised I had a spanking fetish and long before any kind of sexual awakening or even puberty! Perhaps thats why I'm quite old fashioned in my spanking outlooks and despite being rather anarchist and highly-left wing in real life... quite institutional in my fetish. Perhaps nurture DOES have a roll to play, the so named 'overlap' in your last two questions is more an 'inspiration' because whilst the fetish is biologically driven and causes the spanko to search for it the first scenes you find shape your own interests.

S: Anime is fiction about as much as fiction can be - fantasy worlds, science fiction, etc. But not enough with fiction, you also like real-life spanking?

R: Love it. Best form of excercise out there. I used to run long-distance for my secondary-school (Highschool for the others in the audience) because I had lots of stamina - I was also a stick-thin twig with a great strength-to-weight ratio so while I wasn't very strong and awful at sports I could keep going. I'm certain anyone who does any kind of excercise or martial art will describe the high you get from it, it's almost indescribable but there's such a wonderful warm place you go to when you get reach a certain point. Spanking brings that out for me every time, I'm a spanker so as my arm swings and my body sways with the motion it's exactly like an hour at the dojo, you feel elated and warm. I do adore it.

I wasn't sure (until I was spanked) whether or not I was a switch. I will happily switch in verbal or text-based roleplay but until I was tugged into place over the lap I had no idea if I'd like it. I must say, I didn't. Really didn't. There's this thing called Pain and have to say that I don't have much of a masochist in me. I was introduced first to being spanked by one of my gentleman friends whom I've sadly lost contact with now, but he certainly cemented my roll as a top. It probably didn't help that after a tolerable hand spanking I received a number of licks with an antique Scottish tawse. It was over ninety years old and wouldn't have been sold for less than £400. It's also worthy of its reputation as a fearsome implement and I didn't appreciate it much. The tawse has withstood Snow, Wind, Flood and the SNP, it's proven more hardy than me.

S: You have travelled a lot, and met with other spankos in many countries?

R: Oh yes, I wanted to get to see the world and experience a lot of spanking. Most people my age with the fetish keep it secret for many years and don't really get the experience they wish for until quite a few years later. Their thirties quite often, I've been told. I myself, I've had a few helping hands from some... old hands, if you'll forgive the awful pun. I've spanked some wonderful men and women of around my agegroup in Mexico, the United States, Germany, France, Spain and Japan. I'm hoping to get some more experience over the next few months too. I move fast and most of my spanking experiences so far have been meetings of less than a week. I get invited by spankees to visit them, I travel to their country or city by air, find my way to either a neutral hotel or their house and spend a few days to a week there. So far this has meant during the day I get to do touristy things with a local guide who can show me around and do all the translating and talking for me (the best sort of holiday to have) with occasional breaks in a quiet corner for some quick discipline if needed before a proper spanking or roleplay in the evenings.

Most of my colleagues at work have already noted that my holiday snaps seem to have a cute male or female hanging around in them or pointing something out. They don't know about the spanking and believe my holidays to be totally innocent... Being Britian, this doesn't stop the constant joking though, a few of them have taken to calling me Hugh (As in Hugh Heffner). I don't mind that, I guess I deserve it, some friends in the London spanking community have refered to me as "Quite disgustingly pleased with myself." I quite like that, actually.

I've not yet been in a long-term or even medium-turn relationship with a spanko, but I'm not against it. I wouldn't turn around and say "I can't be tied down, I like being a bachelor" at any time because frankly that's arrogant, you never know when the right person comes along.

S: That gives me an idea... something like a global Hospitality Club organization for spankos. Travel the world, see places, meet and stay with like-minded people who live there, can share company and meals, and perhaps even show you round the city or local places of interest. Playing possible but never a must...

R: An interesting idea, but I think you'll find they already exist as a service provided by certain people to certain destinations. I gather you have to be vetted first. You also have to pay a little extra, I know there's a gentleman in South Africa who offers just such a club. Never my thing, I prefer informal travel with things left uncertain, I'm not a package-holiday person.

S: Informal, free - that's actually what I had in mind, based on the model of hospitalityclub.org or couchsurfing.org.

R: I don't for a second think that money is the best judge of character, but an informal and free service wouldn't garantee safety or even meeting the 'right sort'. Especially for spankees. The hospitality club is one thing, but they don't have to go over the knee. The informal and free service would have to include a large emphasis for talking and chatting between the two prospective people before meeting - Sounds like a personals site to me... and we have those.

S: Do you speak any languages besides English?

R: I'm quite proud of my Japanese, I can understand what's being said to me and I can speak it understandably (Although as a consequence from watching too much anime I talk with the dialect of a Tokyo schoolgirl, but most otaku do, so I guess thats acceptable). Sadly, it's suffered neglect recently and I used to be a lot better at it this time two years ago than I am now... sadly some of it's been forced out of my head by a lot of other things I've been learning recently. Thats not too suprising, my French used to be very good, the Japanese forced THAT out of my head when I learnt it. I don't think that I'm naturally good with languages so there's only going to be room for one.

S: When roleplaying, what scenarios/roles do you like best?

R: Coo, hard to say... I like a tender and soft scene usually, I must admit that both topping in roleplay in person and topping/subbing in text it's different.

In text I like Brother/Sister roles, entertwined family with a real level of intimacy and comfort between the characters, it's sweet and sometimes mushy but always enjoyable. For real life, I admit to liking a bit of correction and erm, well deserved punishment. I've done a few knight/princess scenes, lots of bratting and a really deserving girl who is just begging to be put over the knee. I also like punishments along the lines of homeowner/housegirl spankings. I'm not the greatest actor, but the point is confidence and willingness.

S: Do you always roleplay when spanking in real life, or do you also enjoy other forms of spanking, such as purely sensual approaches? If so, does it depend on your partner?

R: Well, I do like to some more... sensual things - but for the benefit of your readers I'll only relate one example. It's really sadistic in a passive way. I like to look into a spankee's eyes as I swat her. After a spanking when he or she has a sore bottom - I do like to lie back on the bed or sofa, almost like snuggling, flick the hair out of their eyes and tell them not to break eye contact and *very slowly* land swats on the bottom and see their reactions. Occasionally it's just a flicker, other times a full flinch depending on the strike. There's no roleplay there, just me slowly absorbing my partner's reactions.

S: What is spanking for you?

R: Dunno. It's certainly a large part of my sex-life and a small amount of my spare time too. Many of my friends are spankos and I don't honestly see myself in a relationship in the future without spanking. I certainly wouldn't give it up, I love it. I'm a bit odd with my politics obsession and occasional geekyness so I'd make a crap vanilla anyway.

S: Well, thank you very much, Rob, for this insight into your life and thoughts, and best wishes for your future ventures!