I doubt anyone remembers Kingpin, the 2003 NBC mini-series about a Mexican drug lord and his family. Other than featuring Sheryl Lee, who played dead girl Laura Palmer on Twin Peaks, the only notable element of the show was the adult caning references in one episode.

Basically, the drug lord is working with an eccentric English chemist who likes caning the ladies. To keep business running smoothly, the drug lord’s brother hires a professional bottom to entertain the Englishman. Here’s how that conversation goes:

Woman: “So this guy, he knows how to handle a cane? I don’t want him hitting me in the wrong places.”

Man: “It seems like he knows what he’s doing. He’s English.”

Woman: “If he’s really good, who knows? I might even have an orgasm. Maybe two. It’s happened before.”

Unfortunately, the off-screen caning session does not go well, with the Englishman getting a knife in the chest after he puts his cigarette out in the working girl’s mouth.

Sorry Guv’nor. That’s what happens when you ignore a lady’s safe word on this side of the pond.

Have you ever noticed how portrayals of non-consensual BDSM-type activities are considered perfectly acceptable within works of science fiction or fantasy, but those same acts are still (often) judged as taboo or downright silly when practiced by consenting adults for mutual enjoyment?

I submit into evidence the July 1979 issue of The Savage Sword of Conan, which any kink-curious teen could purchase from the magazine rack at Safeway for the modest sum of one U.S. dollar. No age restrictions and no raised eyebrows at the checkout counter.

This particular comic tells the story of a nearly-naked wench who is suspended by her wrists and mercilessly interrogated by the whip-wielding Amazon queen. The plucky gal eventually slips out of her restraints and goes scampering around the dungeon to rescue Conan, wearing just her welts and a ragged loin cloth.

Yep, that was a dollar well spent.

However, if an adult magazine in 1979 had published a serious article entitled Girl-on-Girl Whipping Fantasies, you certainly wouldn’t find that issue at the supermarket. It would most likely be relegated to the “Special” section of the creepy adult video store.

So the moral of this story is: It’s apparently fine to portray acts of bondage and flagellation in mainstream media – as long as the participants aren’t enjoying themselves. (Because that’s perverted.)

Back in 1996, my exposure to spanking videos was still fairly limited – you mostly had to buy them on VHS tapes via mail order – so when the documentary Fetishes: Mistresses & Domination at Pandora’s Box played on HBO, I really hoped that it might feature a corporal punishment scene. And it did!

Filmmaker Nick Broomfield took a documentary crew inside Pandora’s Box, a high-end S&M parlor on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where he interviewed several ProDoms and their clients, and even filmed some actual sessions.

One segment in particular piqued my interest: A professional bottom named Mary discussed her personal corporal punishment fantasies and then participated in an intense caning scene. Here are a few excerpts from Mary’s interview:

“My fantasy is to submit to a very powerful, dominant woman.”

“I grew up in a male-dominated household and was constantly being punished for being out of line. I remember getting sexual satisfaction out of this.”

“I consider myself a masochist, but I’ve used this asset to pay my bills. It’s a wonderful way to make a living.”

“Sometimes I’m a schoolgirl and I get spanked.”

I’ve posted a couple of video stills from Mary’s caning session. As you can tell from her bottom welts, the gal can take a respectable thrashing – and despite her tears, she really likes it.