Punishing Silence

The other night I was at Perilous Pleasures chatting with some members of that community, and a question came up regarding punishment. Punishing a masochist is a tricky matter, since tying someone up and or spanking her (or him) may arouse pleasure. How do you punish a submissive?

I thought about this a moment, and I realized immediately what I would consider the worst form of punishment: denial of attention. I can bear just about anything, except silence. I said so to the group, and all the subs agreed, as did community leader and experienced Dom, David Valentino.

I guess underlying the submissive nature is a craving for attention.