I admit, the forty year age gap between Jake and Joane icked me out at the time too.

As for the spanking thing... four words. "Fifty Shades of Gray". Massively popular, and every woman I know (except, possibly, my mother) has read it. So while women may not want to be subject to that kind of behavior, we certainly seem to like to read about it. Even my sister, who thought that Twilight was revolting, enjoyed Fifty Shades.