The abdominal reflex spasms in response to light contact on the overlying skin:

How aware of this response are people in general?

Interested in all your opinions and experiences of this phenomenon

No, of course not; "vanillas" have no concept of sensory input, especially anything that might be related to tickling, ticklishness, or any other related search term. Only hardcore tickle fetishists are imbued with the Sacred Knowledge.

Seriously, it's a fetish, and a pretty tame one at that.
We're not X-Men.
"Vanillas" are not necessarily vanilla, either.
Stop acting like they're Muggles, or something.

I see people asking about vanillas a lot on here, and here's the thing. THEYRE VANILLAS. AND THEYRE VANILLAS for a reason. Vanillas are not your average Joe shmo person that doesn't like tickling. They're people that are not into any fetishes and essentially "very plain and unexciting". Not my definition, just googled it.

Tickling may not be a crazy fetish but it's fun and it's different. Something a vanilla isn't. Not everyone is a vanilla. A vanilla is a certain type of person. My fiancee's sister is a vanilla. Doesn't like anything kinky or fetish related. Barely even likes sex. Doesn't really talk dirty. Just plain and reserved. Hates tickling and being tickled too.

If a vanilla is aware of what you're asking, and pays attention to someone's bodily reactions to light tickling, then by the very act and nature, they're not a vanilla.

Wolf said:

No, of course not; "vanillas" have no concept of sensory input, especially anything that might be related to tickling, ticklishness, or any other related search term. Only hardcore tickle fetishists are imbued with the Sacred Knowledge.

Seriously, it's a fetish, and a pretty tame one at that.
We're not X-Men.
"Vanillas" are not necessarily vanilla, either.
Stop acting like they're Muggles, or something.

Click to expand...

Vanillas are vanilla. That's why they're called vanillas. If a vanilla is not necessarily vanilla, then they are not vanilla at all. Either someone is vanilla or they're not. No half and half lol.

BlueLine7045 said:

Vanillas are vanilla. That's why they're called vanillas. If a vanilla is not necessarily vanilla, then they are not vanilla at all. Either someone is vanilla or they're not. No half and half lol.

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Wow, if that last sentence wasn't indicative of the groupthink of so much of the TMF, I don't know what would be. That same logic, applied to people who are "normal" or not, would be considered pretty hurtful around here.
No one likes being called a freak, or weird, and fetishists get a lot of that. So in response, "vanilla" has become the defensive pejorative for anyone who isn't into this particular fetish, at the particular level expected.
Most people have interests and curiosities beyond "vanilla" sex; the problem is that other people never stop blathering on about their own interests to let them get a word in edgewise.

Wolf, I know that I've bumped heads with a few people here in the past including you, but I don't think that you're a bad person. And I'm not saying that you don't have a point here.

But I don't understand your sudden need to go after natscott6282 for their use of the world vanilla in PAST posts when it has nothing to do with the topic of THIS thread.

If you recently came to the conclusion that "vanilla" is an unenlightened and overused term here, that's cool. I applaud you for your realization.

But I just don't understand your need here to bring that up now when this thread is about belly contractions.

And what confuses me more is that you yourself used the terms "vanilla" and "normie" in SEVERAL other threads. I only immediately recognize this because I also posted on them. They most recently, include:

* "Renn Faire and Kink", posts #18 and #31.

* "TickleDr.com AKA 'tickle innocent ticklish gf", posts #9, #22, #27.

* "Do you have a favorite way to work tickling into a conversation?", post #12.

If you've recently realized that those words are offensive and want to recant your own use of them, that's one thing.

But if you just don't like other people using or appropriating YOUR words, and as a result, having your language be associated with people or a "groupthink" that you don't like, that's a whole other issue.

I haven't looked back very far, but it seems to me that recently, that by referring to non-tickle fetishists as "normies" and "vanilla", you coined at least the USE of those terms here, and it has recently caught on more with other members.

My assumption is that since you don't like your past language being used by the very people you usually reprimand or lecture, you want to erase your association with the words and with those members.

But isn't there a more transparent and civil way to explain your dislike for the use of those words, especially since you're the one who made them so popular? Rather than distance yourself from people and that word and labeling them as hurtful?

I appreciate you making this an opportunity to teach people the error of those words. But this is also an opportunity to teach the consequences of language and sentiments spreading through social media posts. Most importantly, it's an opportunity to teach taking accountability and apologizing for making those mistakes.

Despite its problems, this site is a more civil community than most, sexual or not. As times change, there have been a lot of changes in accepted attitudes on this site over the years. I think that it's better off as a result.

We should continue spreading responsible and constructive attitudes and hopefully assisting in people on this forum becoming better and happier people as a result of using it.

Crefl1n said:

Wolf, I know that I've bumped heads with a few people here in the past including you, but I don't think that you're a bad person. And I'm not saying that you don't have a point here.

But I don't understand your sudden need to go after natscott6282 for their use of the world vanilla in PAST posts when it has nothing to do with the topic of THIS thread.

If you recently came to the conclusion that "vanilla" is an unenlightened and overused term here, that's cool. I applaud you for your realization.

But I just don't understand your need here to bring that up now when this thread is about belly contractions.

And what confuses me more is that you yourself used the terms "vanilla" and "normie" in SEVERAL other threads. I only immediately recognize this because I also posted on them. They most recently, include:

* "Renn Faire and Kink", posts #18 and #31.

* "TickleDr.com AKA 'tickle innocent ticklish gf", posts #9, #22, #27.

* "Do you have a favorite way to work tickling into a conversation?", post #12.

If you've recently realized that those words are offensive and want to recant your own use of them, that's one thing.

But if you just don't like other people using or appropriating YOUR words, and as a result, having your language be associated with people or a "groupthink" that you don't like, that's a whole other issue.

I haven't looked back very far, but it seems to me that recently, that by referring to non-tickle fetishists as "normies" and "vanilla", you coined at least the USE of those terms here, and it has recently caught on more with other members.

My assumption is that since you don't like your past language being used by the very people you usually reprimand or lecture, you want to erase your association with the words and with those members.

But isn't there a more transparent and civil way to explain your dislike for the use of those words, especially since you're the one who made them so popular? Rather than distance yourself from people and that word and labeling them as hurtful?

I appreciate you making this an opportunity to teach people the error of those words. But this is also an opportunity to teach the consequences of language and sentiments spreading through social media posts. Most importantly, it's an opportunity to teach taking accountability and apologizing for making those mistakes.

Despite its problems, this site is a more civil community than most, sexual or not. As times change, there have been a lot of changes in accepted attitudes on this site over the years. I think that it's better off as a result.

We should continue spreading responsible and constructive attitudes and hopefully assisting in people on this forum becoming better and happier people as a result of using it.

Click to expand...

It's not the terms, it's the context.
I don't have the inclination to deal with walls of text. The OP keeps putting forth these wide-eyed comments about "vanillas" as if anyone who's not into tickling as a fetish is completely unaware it even exists. That's all.

no I don’t

natscott6282 said:

no I don’t

Click to expand...

ok, cool.

Wolf said:

ok, cool.

Click to expand...

I’m simply exploring the differences in things like knowledge and skills between people who are into tickling and people who aren’t.

I'm actually pretty surprised by all this. I never really considered the fact that the word vanilla could be harmful and I also never realized it made people who have fetishes feel weird. Assuming I'm interpreting that correctly.

Interesting. I mean I could live with or without the word. It's not a regular part of my vocabulary.

Anyway Natscott, I'm going to change my answer. Not sure why I wrote what I wrote earlier. Perhaps it was in relation to the use of the word vanilla. Anyway, I would assume most people would be aware of some type of reaction occurring from a tickle. I feel most people, while they don't think about tickling on the daily, can name the main common tickle spots such as stomach, feet, etc. and would thus be aware of some type of abdominal reflex occurring from light touching of the abdomen.

This is especially true for certain career professions such as doctors, nurses, massage therapy, etc. Also it should be mentioned that there have been quite a few movies in Hollywood where a certain part of the body is lightly stimulated and some type of reflex occurs. So my answer to your question is: about as aware as you would expect.

natscott6282 said:

I’m simply exploring the differences in things like knowledge and skills between people who are into tickling and people who aren’t.

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I know. There's not many, actually. Tickling is a very common form of flirting and foreplay among people who don't have a specific fetish for it.

BlueLine7045 said:

I'm actually pretty surprised by all this. I never really considered the fact that the word vanilla could be harmful and I also never realized it made people who have fetishes feel weird. Assuming I'm interpreting that correctly.

Click to expand...

Vanilla isn’t an insult. It’s not offensive (or it shouldn’t be). It’s simply the term used to describe someone with no kinks or fetishes; those who only like “normal” sex.

I guess the issue is we can’t pretend vanillas don’t know what tickling is at all. That would be an insult to their intelligence. But obviously, they don’t think about it in detail to the extent that we do.

I don't think that ANYBODY wants to be called anything that they don't identify as. It doesn't matter if you're talking about sexuality, politics, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, etc.

When a label has multiple meanings to people, the use of the term becomes even more potentially harmful and is better to only be used among people you know very well.

Members of this site mostly identify as tickling fetishists, but the similarities end there, and the differences in what we believe and how we identify begin.

Among them, how we view the development of sexuality, like whether it's something that was always a part of you and will never change, or that all sexuality can be acquired or learned, are things that we all have different opinions about. The reasons for those opinions range from personal philosophy, spiritual beliefs and our own experiences.

The use of the word like "vanilla" to define a person with NO kinks, may be viewed as an "accurate label" by some, "nonsense" by others, "true sexuality" by certain religious fundamentalists, a "repressive label" by a sexologist, etc. If you can't find common ground with someone to talk despite disagreement on these labels, then you may not be able to get along with them, but that isn't what causes offense.

In the end, sometimes, you don't want to be called something that has been used with a particularly a negative context. The word "nerd" gets used in a positive light by many people these days, but there are plenty who were bullied and called this and as a result hate the word. Depending on how it affects a person personally, the word can be taken as an insult, and if you care about someone, you will respect that.

Some people don't like the way the word "vanilla" is used. For some here, it ASSUMES that someone has NO kinks. Others here use it to describe people that don't have a tickling fetish. I'm sure that to someone out there in another sexual community few people here are a part of, WE'RE the "vanillas" because we don't share THEIR kink. But depending on how you define the word, a person might find that label false, and as a result a sign of someone's lack of respect for them, if not a lack of intelligence.

If someone is called this, or any label or nickname CONSTANTLY by their sex partner or community, and they don't identify that way themself, I don't think that any of us tell them how they SHOULD feel.

I don't want to encourage anybody to be overly sensitive, but this isn't a simple issue. If someone says your beliefs about them are false or they've been traumatized by harassment with a word to the point that it upsets them and they don't view you as a friend anymore, then if you value being their friend or part of their community, then it's for the best that you stop saying it.

Some people can't be offended by anything, that's good for them. I've never viewed this word very closely, but I avoid using labels that I PERSONALLY consider to be illogical or belittling, which is how I personally feel about the word vanilla in relation to sexuality.

But in a place like this, maybe we should be more specific with how we identify non tickle fetishists and not use terms with extreme or multiple meanings.

Jezebel Lee said:

I guess the issue is we can’t pretend vanillas don’t know what tickling is at all. That would be an insult to their intelligence. But obviously, they don’t think about it in detail to the extent that we do.

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who has ever pretended that vanillas don’t know what tickling is at all?

I been quite surprised myself, I known a couple of people who are not into tickling as a fetish be naturally talented at it, to the point I have been like so jealous of them haha it’s took years of practice for me, and I still feel I can improve.

All these "responses" ( including this one! Lol) and I don't think a single one really actually in any way shape or form answers the op's freakin question, or at least not the way the op was intending for it to be answered!

Crefl1n said:

I haven't looked back very far, but it seems to me that recently, that by referring to non-tickle fetishists as "normies" and "vanilla", you coined at least the USE of those terms here, and it has recently caught on more with other members.

Click to expand...

I mean, this has to be a joke, or sarcasm, right?

Wolf created the use of vanilla and normie here on the TMF? And recently? Oh, dear, dear, babe, fresh from suckling within the cradle.

Although, he is indeed a bad person.

Oddjob0226 said:

I mean, this has to be a joke, or sarcasm, right?

Wolf created the use of vanilla and normie here on the TMF? And recently? Oh, dear, dear, babe, fresh from suckling within the cradle.

Although, he is indeed a bad person.

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I'm not sure what the drama is here... but for your own sanity, and the sanity of others, I strongly recommend ignoring the person you quoted.