Recap:MBS Sunday Brunch for Jan 13

Why rub? It seems like such a simple question. As you can see from everyone's responses below, the answer can be a bit more complex.

Fondles: It's simple. :) It feels better when you rub, like physically better.

Sunnygirl: Like Fondles said, it feels like you're rubbing away the sting. It works too.

Pocahontas: I do it to assess the damage! ;)

Tricia: It's because it stings/hurts/throbs all at the same time. Rubbing makes it feel better. Or it would, if I were allowed. ;)

Brooke: We figure it's a way to get the sting out! It works for a bit! :)

Fred Bloggs: The inverse, not being allowed to rub, is an interesting addition to the scene. But rubbing definitely helps the pain.

Hermione: It produces an emotional reaction that adds to the entire experience. After a spanking, I am at my most submissive, and as I touch my hot, red cheeks, I think about what has just taken place. Rubbing helps to process my thoughts and feelings, and I often say to myself, "I've just been spanked." I also have to take a peek in a mirror and see what the damage looks like.

Saoirse: It helps. It intensifies. It soothes. It amazes me.

Anon: To reassure myself that even when my bottom feels like it is on fire, it is not.

Kady: For me, I like to feel the heat and know just how "hot" it really is. It's like "feeling the love."

Abby: It feels better, and if there are welts, it is nice to feel them. Also, I always like to find a mirror.

Sir Q's mlb: It soothes. It excites. It affirms.

The heat is something that is best felt with your hands as well as any welts.

Mr. BB: I prefer to rub the TiH/spankee's backside afterward. Sometimes, that includes a soothing lotion during aftercare.

After a disciplinary style spanking, it's a good time to reaffirm why the spanking was implemented and ideas of how to avoid the TiH progressing from spanking to disciplinary spanking to punishment spanking.

After a more "playful" style spanking, it's time to play! :)

Sublime Wifey: I rub to make it feel better and to assess the damage. If there are welts, I get a little thrill running my fingers over them.

Scunge: For me, it helps rub it in. Yes, it's a kind of affirmation. I don't know. It just feels good.

Ian's Mrs: I do it to make sure my bottom is still in one piece. LOL It also soothes it and comforts me, I think. Emotionally, I am usually a little undone and vulnerable. It feels natural to reach out to the place where we can physically touch the hurt.

Roz: It's a reflex action. I do it instinctively. It soothes the sting and helps calm me. Also, it helps me process what has just happened.

S.N.M.: It's because it hurts. Silly question.

Abby Sage: I want to tell him that it hurts without using words because if I use words, he says unhelpful things like, "Good" or "Well, what did you expect?"

Also, I want to cool my bum with my hands.

Finally, it is the spanked girl's version of rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

Prefectdt: It just feels so good. Getting a good rubbing from the spanker feels good too. :)

TL Bucko: It does soothe the pain somewhat, but I think it also allows time for me to process. It confirms that, yes, a spanking actually just happened. I prefer cuddling with Bucko and letting him rub it though. :)

Felicia Nemo: This is an interesting question. I think part of it is a reflex. If you burn your finger, you stick it in your mouth to cool it so rubbing your bottom after a spanking does the same thing.

However, I think there is a mental aspect as well, as has been mentioned above. To expand on the concept of confirming that the spanking has actually taken place, it also acknowledges to both the spanker and spankee that a good job (good as in thorough!) has been done. It can be used as a bit of a suggestive behaviour of things to come after a more playful spanking. ;)

Ronnie: I do it instinctively. Rubbing helps the sting and I like to feel the heat.

S: If it was just a hand spanking D gave me, I love the hot, sexy smart and rubbing my buns, which feel inflated, hot and stinging. This makes me feel even sexier because this is what he did to my plump rear end. It's thrilling.

A dose of the wooden paddle is another matter. Initially, it's the same sexy smart for me to rub, but once that has died down, I realise just how much it is hurting, and as for sitting on it, no way!

Ana: I don't know if it objectively actually alleviates the pain that much, but emotionally and reflexively, it makes the person feel "as if" it helps, and sometimes that's enough.

Not being able to do anything at all after a spanking intensifies the pain emotionally/psychologically because there is nothing to do. It's a Placebo effect, I think.

Dr. Ken: Because it's there...?

Jenny:

1. The nervous system sends other signals - rubbing - and while that is going on, our brain can't pay attention to the sting. This can last only for a little while. (This is the same phenomenon as when the doctor asks you a question as she is doing something unpleasant. You don't notice the unpleasantness as much because your brain is busy figuring out what to say and saying it.)
2. To assess damage. "OK, at least I am not bleeding. It hurts like hell, though!"
3. To feel the heat. Hands can assess this well.
4. Like Hermione said, for greater emotional impact. Yes, "I've just been spanked."

Elle: I think it's for comfort. Not that bruise rubbing makes it feel better, it's more an internal comfort. Or perhaps it's to feel the heat. Maybe? :)

Chelsea: It's a first instinct when someone is in pain to fix it. If you burn your hand, the first instinct is to run it under water (not just sit there and look at it), and so forth. The same works for spanking. It's your body's first instinct to do something to make the pain/sting feel better.

I also agree with the ideas of assessing the damage and signals being sent to the brain being other common reasons why someone might rub after a spanking.

George: I agree it is instinctive, but it also helps relieve the pain.

Rachael Lee: Rick doesn't allow me to rub my bottom after I've been spanked, unless he specifically gives me permission. It always feels so good when he finally does let me rub it though.

Riley: 7 years. WOW, that's awesome.

This is a funny question because Cael used to ask me why I did it. I'd tell him that I was trying to make it feel better. He'd ask if it did and generally I'd realize... Nope, not really! I don't know why. I guess it was just SOMETHING to try to alleviate the burning.

Thanks, Riley!

Bonnie: As I read everyone's comments, I marked them off in my mind. Soothe - Check. Assess the damage - Definitely. Let reality sink in - True. Share how much it hurts - Right. Reflex - Yes, probably so. Feel the heat - Oh yeah. To entice my husband – Sure, if I can. In short, my answer has to be all of the above.

What a wonderful turnout! Thank you all for joining us.