SAFETY TERMINOLOGY
SSC—Safe, Sane & Consensual. The basic safety mantra currently in use by the Community. It’s purpose is to ensure that all BDSM activities are done in a safe & sane way, with the consent of both players. It is to remove the abusive abilities of partners during play & scening, and is also to alert everyone to the hazards of play that they should take under consideration.
RACK—Risk Aware Consensual Kink. Used in conjunction with SSC, RACK basically means being aware of the safety risks that exist in the kink & play that you are choosing to consensually engage in with your partner.
Consent—ALL BDSM ACTIVITIES should ONLY be engaged in with the consent of ALL involved players. Consent means that all players/partners are aware of the risks of the play, the type of play, and the sequence of play, and have agreed on limits & bounds to the play, as well as safe words and a definitive end. One can consent to a rape scene, for instance, but NEVER consents to be raped in the vanilla sense of the word. Consent is easier obtained if all parties are open about their objectives & ideas surrounding the play.
Safe word—a safe word is used to end play when the play has become unsafe or either partner/playmate feels wrong or uncomfortable with the play. When the safe word is used, play must IMMEDIATELY stop and the partners/playmates can talk through the problem & fix it. Sometimes partners will have 2 safewords: one for “getting close to my limit” and one for “stop immediately.” Before ANY type of play, everyone should be aware as to the safe words. If the submissive is gagged or otherwise verbally impaired, an alternative to the safe word must be found—in a safe signal, for instance, ringing a bell, or dropping a ball. A safe word is a CRITICAL PART of play.
Soft Limits—soft limits are those limits that, while in place, are open to potential exploration and expansion. Soft limits usually surround those kinks that one hasn’t tried but is willing to try, or might involve a kink the person has had a previous, uncomfortable experience with, but is willing to push forward & explore again, albeit under different conditions. While soft limits can be pushed & explored, they should also always be respected.
Hard Limits—hard limits should NEVER be touched. These are the absolute, point-of-no-return boundaries that someone has. These are in place to prevent exploration of kinks that the person has no interest in, or may has had prior abuse or negative experiences that they do not want to relive. Also hard limits may be put in place for practical reasons or any other reasons of the person’s choosing. Pushing or crossing hard limits breaks trust & is a breach of safety & consent as well.