i don't think there is a link

I was spanked as a child pretty often. I have no tendencies whatsoever for BDSM or domination/submission. If there is any pain at all--I quit. I think sometimes people want to figure out the reason so bad that they make logical issues and reasons for certain behaviors they do not understand. Just my theory, though.

There are only correlational studies that link one behavior (high variability) with another behavior (high variability) - that is corporal punishment and sexual fetishes. For some people there may be a causal link, but correlational studies do NOT provide evidence for causation.

Never spanked. A submissive masochist though

I was both spanked as a child and beaten as a child. I am a dominant who enjoys being on the receiving end of pain play.

When I was spanked as a child, I always knew exactly why I was being spanked. It was a rare, last resort punishment for deliberate disobedience or for engaging in dangerous acts. It was over my clothed buttocks, with an open hand (never an object). It was done privately, rather than in front of my siblings, making it between the parent giving punishment and myself. It was not designed to inflict pain, but to show dominance, and once I reached the age of reason, it was discontinued for other punishments. After a spanking, it was again explained to me why I had been spanked and why I could not do the thing I had done ever again. That is how I intend to use it with my own children, if I have them.

When I was beaten as a child, the cause was usually mysterious. It was a frequent punishment that was seemingly decided on a whim, and the apparent object was to instill pain and fear, rather than to instill a lesson. It was done with a thick wooden paddle mostly on clothed buttocks, but if the nanny doing the beatings was in a bad mood and in poor aim, blows could fall on the legs and lower back. It was done in front of everyone, and if one child was getting beaten, we usually all were beaten, so we got the anticipation down too. After beatings, we were told to get out of her sight and keep our mouths shut.

One was a carefully deliberated action meant to keep me from doing things that might cause me to come to harm (I was spanked for things like trying repeatedly to walk into the fireplace or running into the street), and one was child abuse by a mentally unstable woman who didn't know how else to deal with annoyance (I was beaten for things like not knowing I had to vacuum under the dining room chairs or for crying when her sons called me fat and ugly).

I don't think either shaped my sexuality.

maybe for some

Like most kids who acted badly I got spanked as a kid. HOWEVER, it's not the reason I got into BDSM, the reason I got into it was because I saw videos and images when I was a teen and I thought it looked pretty hot and awesome.

I do not think there is a link

There are some really interesting posts here, thank you all.

As for my thoughts... yes, I think there may be a link, but I voted for no. I feel like there's an implied one-to-one relation between the two in the question, which I don't think is right, but childhood experiences absolutely shape adult sexuality. For a different example: how many people can look back at Disney movies and point out one that introduced them to a future fetish?

I was spanked a few times as a child, but only when I had really crossed a big line, and then only with an open hand. I can remember maybe one occasion when I was slapped in the face. Mostly my parents raised their voices with me a lot. I know that my parents came from abusive homes, so they were trying consciously to break that cycle with me, and I think they succeeded. I spank my child only as an extreme last resort (i.e. he did something that could endanger his life, like running out into the street.)

I am a switch. I don't think spanking in my childhood has anything to do with my kinks, though some other trauma in my background unrelated to my parents may have some bearing on it. (Won't discuss that here.)