Bondage Beats The Blues

Scientists in Siberia announced this week that depression can be cured with prolonged courses of "whipping therapy', according to Russian newspaper Pravda.

Doctor of Biological Sciences, Sergei Speransky reportedly treated his own condition through regular self flagellation sessions and has since developed his own scientific programme of 30 sets of 60 lashes each time.

"The whipping therapy becomes much more efficient when a patient receives the punishment from a person of the opposite sex," he also revealed, "the effect is astounding: the patient starts seeing only bright colours in the surrounding world, the heartache disappears, although it will take a certain time for the buttocks to heal, of course," he agreed (Izvestia newspaper).

Dr Speransky's findings could bring relief to thousands of British males suffering from the notorious compulsion known universally as "the English Vice', memorably defined by author Ian Gibson as "spanking on the buttocks, sometimes referred to today as 'corporal punishment' (in his seminal BDSM text "The English Vice: Beating, Sex and Shame in Victorian England and After').

Writing in 1978, Mr Gibson claimed the still widespread and peculiarly British phenomenon emerged as a result of children being caned at schools and remains synonymous with shame, anger and humiliation rather than the wholesome medical treatment Doctor Speransky now advocates.

"Anyone unfortunate enough to be afflicted with the English Vice is bound to feel extremely ill-at-ease in his relationships with other people," Gibson wrote. "Forever forced to have recourse to a childhood fantasy in order to achieve erection in an adult situation, the flagellant cannot avoid the constant awareness that he has never matured sexually."
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