Public humiliation is something I have long ad a fascination with, and right now I am formulating plans to re-inact some of these historical punishments, which, oddly, I find rather hot!
Historically, shameful exposure involved a variety of methods, most often placing a criminal in the centre of the town or village and having the locals enact a form of "mob justice" on the individual, including shouting verbal abuse and throwing of rotten veg. The punishment of public humiliation could be, amongst other things, an offender being forced to relate his crime, such as by exaggerated physical parody. The offender could alternatively be sentenced to remain exposed in a specific public place, in a restraining device, such as a stocks or a pillory. I already knew about these, but still wish to re-inact something, involving a pillory, rotten veg, freezing water and a birch!
I have just read that The arsenal in the Low Countries included the schandstoel ("Chair of shame"), the kaak or schandpaal ("pole of shame", a simple type of pillory), the draaikooi, customary for adulteresses, and the schopstoel, a scaffolding which one is kicked off to land in mud and dirt). I have never heard of these, but again, they grab my interest, mainly due to the psychology of the public shaming. In pre–World War Japan, adulterers were publicly exposed purely to shame them (see below). One can only imagine what the crowd did or said to the straying couple...but it could and probably did make them squirm...
Humiliation is a very personal subject, but just now, these are some of the avenues I am looking to try, maybe in my private life (but I will get careful pictures for on here, promise!), but I would like to explore it. I have had this itch too long and want to scratch it. Does anyone have itches they still want to scratch? Or do you have itches you think are better left unscratched? I would love to hear your views folks!
