Why we are as we are? (cont)

 

Physical

• An altered brain state: caused by brain lesions, with similarities to epilepsy. Paraphilias result from impairment of neural circuits laid down before birth or shortly afterwards, and are associated with other indications of minor brain damage occurring in infancy.

Don’t get too nervous. Some of the data, which is anyway scanty, for this theory is more than fifty years old. If somebody had found a “cure” for homosexuality (the theory was proposed mainly for that) by brain surgery, and being society as it is, it should have been applied long ago. Remember lobotomy.

 

• Anomalies in the endocrinal system, which produce a hormonal imbalance, which makes the subject act abnormally.

It could be, but it is not proved. Even if there is a different hormonal combination (as it could be), is it anomalous? Do we “act abnormally”?

 

• As a spanking on the buttocks stimulates the genital area, (mechanically or by the neural connections among them), a spanking is arousing, and can become a sexual experience, being imprinted as such at childhood.

Another old and faulty argument used by nonspank enthusiasts. For most of history, it was believed that the "loins", and especially the "reins" (the kidneys) were somewhat related to procreation, being connected to the testicles. Flogging was recommended as a cure for impotence for that reason. Now we know it is false. There is no evidence of a mechanical relationship between spanking and arousal (the connection, when it exists, is probably psychical), taken for granted in the theory, and no proven neural connection between the buttocks and the genitals (only, it has been repeated so often and for so many years, that most people believes it is true). And, of course, only if you were, and now enjoy being, spanked. What about the others?

Evolutionist

• In apes, and in the early stages of human development, a female’s offspring had better chances of reaching adulthood if his or her father was a dominant male and, because of that, high in the tribe’s hierarchy. But dominant males tend to be aggressive and difficult to live with, so a female had a better chance of getting along with him if being a submissive. This successful association had better chances of passing the dominant male or submissive female genes to their offspring.

The first part seems to be true, and it is probably the reason behind the attraction that many women feel for men in power, strong or rich (another way of showing dominance in our society). But the theory could only work if most (or all) men were dominant and most women submissive, which is far from proved.

 

An uncommon one

• People who believe in reincarnation may also believe that mental traits can have their origin in past lives. So a spanking fetish could be the result of a traumatic corporal punishment in a previous life.

Was I spanked in a previous life? But it is not worse than most. Only, it takes the problem one step back.

 

Other Causes

The following information is not about theories but about facts of recent discovery, that have not evolved into theories, which its influence in BDSM is not yet known, but that could exist.

Biochemical

• Apart from adrenalin and endorphin, another hormone, gonadotropin, has influence in our behavior. It is responsible for the swelling of the penis, the hardening of the nipples, and the difference in pitch voice between men and women. It controls the female cycle, and is somehow related to the desire to protect the partner and the defense of the territory. It also triggers the production of steroid hormones (testosterone in men and estrogen in women), and the endorphins release.

As it controls so many sex related matters, it could affect our reactions to BDSM.

 

• Some of the endorphins may be involved in responses to pain, humiliation, uncertainty, love and affection. And it seems to be there is a hormonal relation among them and sexual arousal

It could be that, after all, there is a sexual reaction to pain (but not especially spanking) and humiliation. But it is not yet known why some people are affected, and some are not. Something in the genes?

 

• Serotonin is a neurotransmitter related to the control of many of our behaviors. An increase in serotonin will give signs of ecstasy and euphoria, and a decrease, of depression. Research seems to show that male dominants in any group of mammals (including us) have higher levels of serotonin than the average male in the group. A dominant male that losses its position has his levels of serotonin decreased, recovering its normal level when he recovers it. Nondominant male’s serotonin seems not to be affected by social position.

A natural drug for Domination? And what about a temporary increase in status, as in a domination fantasy? Would it produce euphoria? There is no equivalent research data on women, because they were not studied (of course, everybody knows that women are submissive…), but it could be the same.

Genetic

• There is a gene, "BRCA1", found in homosexual men, and not in heterosexuals.

Even if it and "BRCA2" are being studied for its relation with breast cancer and not with sex, so we do not know for sure, it is natural to think that a gene found only in gays could have something to do with their sexual orientation. Could there be one that will be found only in BDSMers?

 

• Genes direct the body on the generation of hormones and neurotransmitters, so there should be some for gonadotropin, serotonin, endorphins and adrenaline, that affect our hormonal response, and our behavior.

Human genetics is in its infancy but, judging for the results in animals and plants (most of the world production of cereal is from genetically engineered (transgenic) varieties), it will be powerful. If there are genes for homosexuality, there could be some for dominance and submission. And that could explain why we are as we are, that BDSM is natural, not a psychical perversion, and that it is innate. But we must wait…
 

Published: 12/23/04

Rev: 02/24/05