Dear Dan: I’m a fan from way back. A therapist told me to go out and have some fun — I’m a married woman with teen boys and feeling a bit lonely — but I’m not looking to have an affair. I just want a spanking now and then. I found the one kink club I visited in New York to be kind of depressing, and my spanking friends are more of a social group who hang out on the weekends. I just need a little recreation — some good, clean spanking fun. Would love your advice.
— Seeks Paddling And Needs Know-How
Dear SPANK: Kink enthusiasts, like dentists and accountants and troglodytes (hey there, CPAC), have conventions, SPANK, where like-minded/employed/aroused folks meet and socialize before heading up to their hotel rooms for some good, clean kinky fun. I think you should get your ass to one of the many spanking conventions out there — and so does Jillian Keenan, journalist and author of Sex with Shakespeare, a memoir about your shared kink (spanking) and how Shakespeare’s plays helped Keenan discover and accept herself, as a human being and as a kinkster. (It sounds like a stretch, I realize, but do yourself a favor and read Sex with Shakespeare — it’s a funny, moving read, and it’s packed with fresh and convincing kinky reads on Shakespeare’s plays.)
“National parties are a great way to get safe, fun, no-sex spankings and meet other people in the scene in a low-pressure environment,” says Keenan, who sent along a list of events all over the country: Shadow Lane (Las Vegas), Boardwalk Badness Weekend (Atlantic City), Crimson Moon (Chicago), Spanking Club of New York (New York City), Texas All State Spanking Party (Dallas), and Lone Star Spanking Party (Houston).
“There are some parties I’ve chosen not to attend for political reasons,” Keenan says. “The spanking community isn’t immune to heteronormative bullshit, unfortunately, and some parties explicitly prohibit M/m play. Any party for sexual minorities that prohibits expressions of other minority sexual identities doesn’t deserve our time or our money!”
Dear Dan: I’m a straight man who was recently dumped over text by a woman after we dated for about four months. I thought we were in love, but she said she doesn’t have room for a relationship in her life right now. I know this is BS. I think she dumped me so that she could sleep with another guy. In fact, I think I know who the guy is. Anyway, I recently had some rebound sex (it was awesome), and the whole time during it, all I could think about was my ex-girl sleeping with this other guy, and it kind of turned me on. Am I weird?
— Moving On, Remembering Ex
Dear MORE: When you say you know “this is BS,” MORE, I trust you’re referring to the text she sent when she dumped you — “I don’t have room for a relationship right now” — because that is definitely bullshit. People say that to be kind, and it’s our job to hear what they’re really saying: “I’m not interested in being in a relationship with you, right now or ever.” But if what you mean by “this is BS” is that she loves you too but had to call it off to go fuck some other guy and you still might have a shot with her, please disabuse yourself of that belief.
Now, in answer to your question, MORE, you’re not weird. I don’t think your reaction is typical, but variance is the norm when it comes to human sexuality. It’s high time we all embraced this bit of cognitive dissonance: Everyone is weird, so no one is weird.
If you and your ex are still speaking/texting, and you think you may be on potential future-FWB terms, MORE, you could go for broke and tell her about your weird-but-not-weird (and unexpected) reaction to the thought of her with this other guy. If your convos gravitate toward sex or sexy memories — mutually — let her know you’re up for either a FWB/MMF threesome sometime or some cuckolding-themed dirty texting. She may be game, she may not be — but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
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