bruised

Do you like being bruised? Do you celebrate bruises? Do you display them and show them off?

Fetlife, for instance, is full of pictures on members' profiles displaying colourful and in some cases very severe bruising.

Do you like causing bruises? What is the balance between the visual effect you are creating and the pain caused?

What is it about bruising?

In researching for this post I came across this very good piece of writing by Kristen about bruising:
I love getting marked up. I love the little dark fingerprints that fade to yellow on my upper arms, the purple signs of a shoulder bite, the teeth marks on my inner thighs. ... But what I really like are the bruises, bigger and more colorful in the light of day. I like the memory of what we did last night blooming on my skin as I strip for the morning’s shower. I like a big bouquet of them, spread across my shoulders and neck and thighs, proof that someone wanted me so badly they had to grab and bite and sometimes break skin. I like to show them off; ... Bruises take work, to give and get. 

I recommend you read the whole piece which puts the bruising described into proper context. I have slightly misrepresented it here through editing for the purposes of this post. You will find it here.

Is the pleasure in bruises a delightful memory of a special event?

For some though it seems to be the bruising itself. There seems to sometimes be a competitive element. "My bruises are bigger/brighter/more colourful than yours!" Or is it an eagerness to show how much one can take - in a kind of "I am more masochistic than you" kind of way? Or if it is the Dom showing off bruises caused is this a way of showing what a sadist they can be!

It doesn't quite work because people mark differently. Everybody's skin and flesh is different. Newbies can mark very easily whereas those who receive regular spanking may find it harder to get marked.

The whole issue is all discussed much more articulately and personally than I have managed by Kristen in the link above. I fear I may have come over rather dismissively about bruising whereas Kristen writes about it beautifully in a positive way.

So what about you? Are there pictures of your bruised bottom or breasts on your blog or on Fetlife? If so do explain to me the pleasure or satisfaction it gives you.

Do you find it a turn-on or a turn-off to look at?

Do tell me about your attitude to bruising...