It's happening. All my friends -- intense, strong, career-minded women -- are suddenly becoming soft. This doesn't happen in public, at least not visible to you or me. But it is happening in the confines of the bedroom: Power suits and pumps are being replaced by Catholic schoolgirl uniforms, Blow Pops, and spankings.

The appeal of age play is something a lot of couples toy with, especially when one of the partners is more dominant, and the other partner enjoys playing with his or her submissive nature. I'm not talking about infantilism, where one of the couple gets off on sucking a bottle and wearing diapers. Rather, I'm talking about a scenario where the submissive one enjoys being told what to do, how to do it, and how to dress while doing it. Knowing that if she doesn't get it right she'll be sternly reprimanded -- made to stand in the corner with her short, plaid skirt hiked over her hips, and told to beg for punishment, all while sucking her partner's thumb. Or something like that.

I spoke with Dr. Kevin E. Ruhrup, a psychologist with a specialty in deviant behavior and human sexuality who practices in Bloomington, Illinois. Dr. Ruhrup explained that the reason this fetish is gaining popularity is because of the divorce rate, and the reason it appeals to some people is because they never had a father. He also went on to tell me that it's a completely normal kink, as long as both parties are consensual, and he also feels that no "fetish is wrong if no one or nothing gets hurt."

A large part of this fetish is the use of pet names, the submissive usually choosing the more romantic and paternal "Daddy" over "Master" and the dominant using words that suggest girlishness: "Pet," "Babydoll," "Princess," and "Kitten" rather than the cheesy and demeaning "Slave." Some girls simply like to have their hair brushed, while others want to be spanked with the same hairbrush afterward. Begging (for any number of things) is also a huge turn-on, as are forced-chastity games where the dominant refuses to touch the submissive for an extended period of time.

Not that I know much about any of this firsthand, or anything.