Erotic spanking is the practice of spanking another for the sexual gratification of either or both parties. Erotic spanking is generally regarded as a form of BDSM activity, although many spanking devotees do not regard it as such. Spanking can be carried out with the bare hands, a paddle, switch, cane, crop, birch or whip; it is often combined with sexual roleplaying and/or ageplay.
Those interested in giving or receiving erotic spankings are sometimes known as spankophiles (or "spankos"). Examples include the poet Algernon Swinburne and the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
