In a word - no. While none of us here at Tickle Brits are qualified to be authorities on psychology, religious matters or greater morality, we can all attest to the sense of belonging, relief and excitement that we've felt in being open and unashamed about having a tickling fetish with like-minded people.

Tickling is, more than anything else you can ascribe to it, a bit of silly, ridiculous fun. And we say the more of that a person has in their life, the better. Can't the same be said about dancing, snowball fights, sex, and so many other things people do? A tickling kink is no more wrong than those.

But surely there must be something depraved and unhealthy in wanting to 'lee - in actually asking to be held down and tickled past your endurance - I hear you cry. Relax, we reply. The urge to give up control (and it is always yours as a 'lee to give and take back) and take a break from everyday responsibilities exists within everyone, and spending an afternoon being tickled by a friend or lover is a much safer way to achieve this than abusing drugs or alcohol, or even going on rollercoasters.

But surely, you continue, there's something sadistic and morally questionable about watching someone struggle and beg for mercy while tickling them (let alone tying them up, teasing them, etc). The answer we give to this is one of the fundamental guiding principles of Tickle Brits, the tickling community, the wider BDSM community, and all other responsible groups where people engage in power play of any kind: EVERYTHING we do and endorse must, at all times, be SAFE, SANE and CONSENSUAL (also called Risk Aware Consensual Kink by some communities). It is essential that all play involves only those who willingly give informed consent to it. So, while kidnapping and tickle-torturing a stranger might make for a great fantasy, we (and the local authorities) would only suggest acting it out as a role-play scenario with someone who agrees beforehand to play the part and knows what will happen, and is actually enjoying it (possibly even more than you are!).

This attitude and level of care, in our experience, has led to a greater level of trust and communication in general than is usually found in relationships in the vanilla world - and that includes among play partners, friends and romantic relationships that include tickling and other kinky fun. Knowing that you, as a 'lee, trust your 'ler to respect boundaries and prioritise your safety and pleasure can be a liberating, and even euphoric, experience. And similarly, as a 'ler, being trusted with that responsibility can be very gratifying as well as exciting.

So go forth and tickle, and no self-flagellation (unless that's your thing, of course - we're not here to judge...).

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