Getting Whipped As A Teen Growing Up In The South

by Bobby Guest

I was whipped, not spanked, growing up in the South in the late 40's and early 50's. There was no such thing as over-the-knee spanking with bare hands or over knee with a hairbrush. I met with the switch or the strap at least on time per month. If report cards came down, I usually had a second meeting with them in the hall way of our house.

Our house was open from front to back, with two doors connecting.

My Mom's favorite tool was a hickory, peach or willow trees switch. They would be about 5 to 6 feet in length, with diameter of a pencil. There would be leaves stripped of them, leaving little spurs on them.

Her other favorite tool of punishment was a leather strap. It was formed from two old leather belts sewn together with two rows of stitches. A handle was attached at end and was whittled down to fit the hand. It was fastened to leather with brads and screws.

I usually got it if I had told a lie, got in a fight, was at wrong place at wrong time or failing grades in school. Another was getting a paddling at school.

I got one as an eight grader for not turning in a Math paper which was due on Monday from week-end. I told Math teacher I didn't have time to do it with all the chores on the farm I had to do. She didn't buy it and had me bend over my desk and she gave me five licks with her paddle.

By time she finished, I had tears in my eyes and was embarassed from it. I just knew I would get another whipping when I got home, so I didn't tell Mom about it. I had at least three teachers who lived in the community, and I figured one of them would tell her.

I escaped for two weeks, until My Mom ran into Math teacher one Saturday afternoon at grocery store. We went to a family supper that Saturday night and went to Church next day. Sunday after lunch, my step-dad, little brother and my granddad were getting ready to go visit granddad's sister and brothers. I was just about in car, when mom told me she need me to stay and help her get some things squared away. It never entered my mind the teacher had told Mom anything about paddling me.

In a few minutes after family departure, she told me to meet her in the hallway of house, we had something to discuss. I walked into hallway and she immediately closed the south door facing the roadway. Then she asked about test paper and paddling. I sheepishly admitted to the infraction, because I knew the jig was up. She told me what was going to happen to me in a few minutes. She asked why I didn't tell her about the paddling, and I told her that it hurt and she had just two days before paddling, given me a hard switching on bare bottom for going swimming in creek and riding on a motorcycle without telling her. I told her I was sore from switching and paddling even made my bottom sting worse.

I was told to undress, while she removed the strap from a drawer of a dresser. I was told when she got through with me, I'd wish I had told her about paddling. She began strapping my bare bottom and hips with strap.

After about eight to ten licks, I began to jump and try to dodge the strap. I put my hand behind me to ward off strokes and was told to move it. She had my left arm in her left hand, and was getting a rhythm with strap. I was crying, begging, pleading.

After I had put my hand back there about 3 times, she told me one more time and she'd tie them up in front of me, so I couldn't put them back there.

About that time a car pulled up in the drive way and blew it's horn, and she stopped to see who it was. She told me to get in my room, that she wasn't through with me.

After I got in room, I was hopping up and down, rubbing my bare bottom to take away some of the pain.

After about 5 minutes, she returned, shut door and called me back in hallway. I was crying Mother don't whip me anymore, I'll tell you when I get in trouble next time.

She said we'll see about that. In the mean time she'd pulled a straight back chair from a table which sat in hall. She told me to bend over chair and grab the sides, and not to let go.

Everytime strap hit me, I'd shift weight from side to side, mover my buttocks side to side to escape the blazing pain in my naked bottom. At times,I would attempt to rise on balls of my feet when strap made contact with my naked bottom.

Finally she gave me about eight licks on my sit spot and told me to stand up. I was very weak-kneed when I stood up. I was told to move the chair back under the table and go to my room and get my clothes on.

I hopped up and down for at least three minutes, rubbing the hurt in my bottom. Suddenly, there was 2 licks with strap and I begun to move away, as she grabbed me by arm and asked what she'd told me to do a few minutes ago. I told her to move chair and get dressed, then I was told if I didn't want another round over the chair, I'd better do it.

After the strapping was over and I settled down, it took my best to set in chair that night a table. In fact, when I went to school next day, I very carefully sat down in my desk. I never again got a school paddling, but still had failures in school work, so failures meant strap or switch on my bare bottom.

I had many more meetings in hallway with strap and switch. I just wish for one time, I could have gotten the hair brush or a hand spanking over a knee, with my bare bottom up.