Spanking Is Wrong
No one tolerates corporal punishment for real criminals even though these people clearly bear greater moral responsibility for their actions than does a child. But it is okay to hit your child: In fact, you can hit your child in a manner that involves nudity and sexual humiliation---and nobody bats an eye. Would somebody tolerate the public nudity---even partial---of a person about to be caned with the same equanimity? Frankly, we are in denial about child abuse and how disturbingly commion it is: Hitting a child is almost never acceptable (the chances were it might be are all lifeboat scenarios, which don't merit discussion in this article which deals with spanking as it is widely practiced) and it is an unspeakable shame that we tolerate it. There are several arguments put forward for the practice of spanking. All are weak and easily refuted: But, of course, denial about the wrongs we have committed against the helpless and that our own parents may have committed against us can be a powerful thing.
First, people argue that hitting a child on the buttocks is okay because it is the safest place to hit a child. Of course, this would come as a great surprise to nuns---whose instinctive sexual propriety made them understand that spanking was wrong and perverse---who have used the rasping of knuckles as an alternative for centuries. Quite simply, this explanation is a facile, makeshift justification for a bizarre practice. There are alternatives that are equally safe---knuckle rasping is but a single example. And of course, denial of all but basic food (bread, water, and some tasteless soy protein) is another alternative---as is the taking away of toys. Second, people argue that removing the child's pants is not inherently sexual---that it is done to increase the sting. Why not simply strike the clothed behind harder---and not remove the pants. Or why not add an extra smack or two to make up for the difference in the lack of sting. No, nudity---in the context of punishment---always has a sexual element to it. This is done to sexually humiliate the child.Now, let's even say that most parents do not have sexual feelings while carrying out this action. What about the small percentage that do---even if it is a vanishingly small percentage: Let's say, one out of 10,000. Of course, the per capita incidence of pedophilia is much higher than this. But, one in ten thousand should be enough to ban the practice. Why should any sexual perversion of that sort be tolerated?
Research also suggests that spanking children correlates with increased aggression and criminality. Now, the counter argument to be made here is that the relation is not causal (I strongly suspect it is and will do my best to prove it here). Rather, parents who have poor impulse control are more likely to lose their temper and spank: And it is this inherited impulsivity shared by the parent and child, not the consequences of the spanking itself, that causes this higher rate of criminality. Also, somebody could argue that crinimally inclined children are more incorrigible---more likely to frustrate their parents into spanking them. Let's deal with this nonsense. First, we can see that corporal punishment generally, and of children in particular, correlates negatively with societal progress. Europe is superior to Asia, which is superior to Africa: Now, if we are to assume that inherent racial differences are not at play, then differences in culture must be to blame. What is the chance of this correlation really being secondary---or insignificant. The cultures that rely less on corporal punishment are more advanced than those that do not---it is a sign of those people's basic understanding of the evil of violence, which understanding underlies all morality and economic order.
Second, the fact that the children persist in being violent despite spanking clearly shows that it is not an effective method in curtailing criminality: And this is exactly what you would expect by showing them that you can get what you want by using violence agaist those who are weaker than you. Of course, using controls of psychometric testing to establish personality factors and then isolating the variable of spanking will probably solve this problem: in favor of my argument. Indeed, "a longitudinal study by Tulane University in 2010 controlled for a wide variety of confounding variables previously noted and still found negative outcomes in such children.According to the study's leader, Catherine Taylor, this suggests that 'it's not just that children who are more aggressive are more likely to be spanked'." (Source, wikipedia)
Dr. Soler---my former employer---had many patients who developed sexual problems as a result of spanking and the corporal punishment imposed by parents. I have first hand knowledge of what this practice entails. We act as if we are concerned about child welfare---the reality is that we are concerned with being perceived to be concerned with it. Real concern would face this issue straight-forwardly.