Friday, March 14, 2008

The Name Game

I've met people with unbelievably imaginitive scene names---names that are so succinct and so appropriate that you have to admire their enginuity. My sister, Cigi, for example uses her initials spelled out. Very cute and clever. I think it really captures her playful personality perfectly. When I started thinking about getting in the scene, I also tried to think of a scene name that fit. I thought of Cricket and quickly rejected it. I thought of Shannon and also rejected that. Scarlet was also quickly ditched. For whatever reason, I just couldn't come up with a name that I liked. Then it dawned on me. I really didn't NEED a scene name. Cheryl is a perfectly nice name. So I went with the one my parents gave me.
Now, I fully understand why some people would choose a scene name. Protecting ones anonimity is paramount in certain cases. And, let's face it, sometimes it's a lot more memorable than ones real name. Think of all the famous sports nicknames out there. Doesn't The Splendid Splinter or Teddy Ballgame sound better than just plain ol' Ted Williams? Doesn't Mr. October roll off the tongue better than Reggie Jackson? In the same vein, if one is in the spanking scene and wants to create a certain persona, having a name like Erma is a bit of a handicap (no offense to any ladies named Erma who might be reading this). Having a scene name is also a great way to add mystery to ones persona. A woman with a memorable scene name and a personality to match can just about write her own ticket. For me, after a short time experimenting with the aforementioned names, it seemed absurd to call myself by some other name. My friends in the scene with scene names all became comfortable eventually with me knowing their real names. And guess what? I found that most of their real names fit them even better than their scene names. But it's that desire to keep oneself anonymous or to add an air of mystery that makes people choose a different name. For me, it never really mattered. I feel my name is fairly memorable (although Cheryl was a pretty popular name in its day, I have yet to meet another woman in the scene with this name).
What it really boils down to, whether you have a scene name or not, is enjoying this thing we do.
Have a good night, everyone!

4 comments:

Indy said...

Baseball and spanking nicknames? Excellent combination! Still, my favorite sports nickname comes from football: Bill Parcells as the Big Tuna. Probably not the scene name for anyone, though, LOL.

I'm enjoying your blog!

--Indiana

Cheryl said...

Thanks, Indiana!

I also enjoy sports nicks, especially baseball. Glad to hear you're enjoying my blog. It's still a little new to me, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Smiles,
Cheryl

Michael said...

Hi, Cheryl!

I just found out about your blog on Devlin O'Neill's Weblog, he has some very nice things to say about you. I have seen you comment there before but wasn't aware of your blog until today. I have visited and commented on Cigi's blog and now am very happy to have found your 'Positively Spanking', love that name. I really enjoyed your 'The Name Game' post and am catching up with your other posts. I love the name Cheryl and think you made the right choice in being yourself. Have a great time at Crimson Moon this weekend and here's wishing you many spanks. :)

Michael

Michael said...

Have a a great time in Chicago, Cheryl. :) Say hi to Cigi and Dr. Ken for me.

Michael