Defined: SSC (Safe, Sane & Consensual) and RACK (Risk Aware Consensual Kink)

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Safe, Sane & Consensual

SSC is an acronym for safe, sane and consensual. It is the basis of good practice in BDSM and the first thing anyone entering the lifestyle is taught. We might be using whips and chains, but we do it safely, sanely and we all consent to it. I know that I will not be involved with anyone who does not consent to an activity, knowing full well what they are getting into. 

Safe, sane and consensual has three legs.The first element of it is to ensure that a risky activity is made as safe as possible by preparing for any eventualities that might lead to injury. The second part of it is to make sure that the activity is not one that would lead to death or serious injury or even a mental breakdown. Activities are monitored for the sanity of doing so. This has always been interesting to me, because we all do not agree on what sanity means. 

I think it is insane to jump out of a plane in mid-air, yet I also think there is nothing wrong with a paddling. The third element is the most important - consent.A responsible scene is set up when the dominant and submissive discuss what is going to happen, what all the risks are, what precautions have been taken and what should happen when things go wrong and then establish consent after that discussion. Consent means nothing if someone has no clue what flogging means and blindly gives their permission.

Risk Aware Consensual Kink

First off, let me explain the term. RACK is basically understanding an activity and the techniques, knowing what the risks are, preparing to minimize those risks, and then consenting to the activity after full disclosure. 

It is much the same as SSC, but it has no vague terms such as safe or sane. How do I decide for someone else what safe or sane is supposed to mean. I do not have the right to dictate to others what they should find acceptable or how they should be doing it.

I will use a relatively inane example:

A girl is told not to wear any underwear. The couple go out to a restaurant and sit down. Nothing is covering her as she sits down on a surface that could be infected with germs and bugs a plenty. I have never seen someone wipe down the chairs or wash the upholstery after every meal. How do you know what risks that girl is exposed to? Is it safe? Is it sane? 

Looking at it from the RACK perspective, one could say that yes the girl has been told to not wear underwear. The dominant could explain how there are risks and explain those to her. he or she could suggest ways of minimizing the risks, such as bringing a towel along that could be placed on the chair in an unobtrusive way, or the submissive could decide that the risks are too great and decide to not participate in that activity and to make it a hard limit.