I guess I could see how someone would think along those lines but I didn't have any problems. I was spanked as a child (rarely and only as a very young child, say pre-7 years old) but I also saw my parents/father give my mother loving pats on her bottom so I could see how theoretically I could have become confused? But I think it would have to be really really oddball and abusive, both the spanking (one doesn't think of older children being "spanked" and I think anything after puberty in that direction is wrong/abuse -- "whipping" older children with objects/belts, etc. is not "spanking" extended!) and the child's association with "sex" since young children aren't thinking in that way when they're being spanked so how they'd later associate it is kind of beyond me. I don't think adults into "dominance" forms of sex/lifestyle are relating that to childhood spanking and I doubt that such interests are "caused"/come out of spanking alone. But I don't think that sexual interests are "deviant" unless they are unwanted by the person who has them or are harmful in a truly dangerous way of that person or others.

I'm not sure, Sidony, if one can really make cause/effect connections in "general," (physical punishment = messed up sexuality) especially if one doesn't know a goodly number of people who feel they are sexually messed up and were also punished in this way? I don't think there have been any studies? and I'm loathed to make connections otherwise. I am personally against "time outs" but know my opinion is just that, a personal opinion based on my own experience so while I might not use time outs with a child of mine, they work for other parents so. . . I was spanked and it worked for me; I'm an upstanding member of civilized society :-) and happy/healthy. If I were going to come out against anything in childhood as causing continuing problems (across the spectrum, not just sexually) it would be emotional abuse. I think repeated emotional "patterns" are more important than anything else that happens to a child and can warp their "normal" development patterns. I think sexual "development" is too unexplored/unknown and idiosyncratic to be linked with anything in childhood yet.

(edited to add trigger icon)