Mollena Williams

September 11, 2009

SSC

Filed under: — Mollena Williams @ 3:59 pm

Safe, sane and consensual (SSC) is one of several phrases used by a large section of the BDSM and sexual bondage communities to describe themselves and their philosophies who regard SSC to be a watchword for safety.

The principles are that BDSM activities should be:

  • safe: attempts should be made to identify and prevent risks to health
  • sane: activities should be undertaken in a sane and sensible cast of mind
  • consensual: all activities should involve the full consent of all parties involved, but note that legal consent may not create a defence to criminal liability for any injuries caused and that, for these purposes, non-physical injuries are included in the definition of grievous bodily harm in English law.

Other people in the BDSM community do not consider SSC to be an accurate term for these relationships/activities. The term Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) is sometimes used as a substitute description.

For those who dissent, issues generally arise from the subjective nature of each term in SSC when using the term as a yardstick to evaluate activities. It can be argued that the terms in RACK are equally subjective. “How safe is safe enough” is a legitimate question, and “how aware is aware enough” is an equally legitimate question.

Most attribute the term to David Stein who coined it in 1984 for GMSMA. More information can be found in the essay titled Safe Sane Consensual: The Evolution of a Shibboleth, in which he states that the term was developed “to distinguish the kind of S/M I wanted to do from the criminally abusive or neurotically self-destructive behavior popularly associated with the term ‘sadomasochism’.”

~From Wikipedia

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3 Comments »

  1. [...] brutal attacks are, at the core, wishing to remain in consensual headspace. Whether you adhere to SSC or RACK, the fact is that, eventually, you’ll stop. That is the point.  SO! Assuming that [...]

    Pingback by The Perverted Negress » Make me want it. — September 11, 2009 @ 4:14 pm

  2. [...] brutal attacks are, at the core, wishing to remain in consensual headspace. Whether you adhere to SSC or RACK, the fact is that, eventually, you’ll stop. That is the point.  SO! Assuming that [...]

    Pingback by The Best Sex Bloggers — September 11, 2009 @ 6:02 pm

  3. I love what you guys are always up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll, Cheers.

    Reply

    Comment by led monitor — February 24, 2011 @ 10:22 am

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