So we all have hopefully heard about S.S.C:
Safe Sane Consensual.
The idea that in doing what we do will adhere to those 3 ideals. But there are flaws or short comings in just thinking that as long as one agrees to SSC no harm can come to them and if harm happens that means the other party is to blame. That is not the case at all but the short coming of thinking SSC is fall safe to keeping one well safe and sane.
Now if we are talking about just feather pillow or toss and tickle D/s then SSC is going to probably cover your bases just fine. You've done your negoations (right?), have your limits and safe word (duh) and have a basic knowledge of the person you are putting/receiving control?(Oh, shit).
But if you're like me and delve a little deeper, harder or darker; Sane starts to be questionable. I mean lets think about this a minute: You want to string someone up and then jolt electricity through them and they agree that's a great idea, there are going to be others saying your fucking insane and its not safe. Oh shit that's not SSC!! OR Maybe you were the one who at first thought it was a great idea until that first jolt knocked you back 20 years and left you a drooling blubbering mess in the corner crying for your wubbie. Damn that means SSC was ignored right?
No. Its just that both of those are examples the one thing that is not addressed in SSC. Where was the consideration of risk over the idea of safety or sanity? That's the elephant in the room that comes with just about anything we do in this lifestyle outside of feathers and pillows (allergies to bird feathers?) Even then you easily could pass into the realm of R.A.C.K
R.A.C.K
Risk Aware Consensual Kink
The glaring differences between SSC and RACK is that what is mentioned in one is clearly not in the other and vise versa.
Safe is replaced with Risk Aware. In RACK you acknowledge that there is a Risk that it may not be entirely safe and that injury (physical or mental) is a possibility. You are Consenting to that. I have at times explained it in replacing the K in Kink to Knowlege. You need to have the knowledge of that particular kink to be able to be Aware of the Risks. (Play that record backward and hear a different lyric)
Sanity is no part of RACK. Not because its not important but because it demands a general definition of sanity. I tend to think people are bat shit crazy in some of their fetishes but then again I know for a fact people think I'm certifiable in some of my ways to play. Get it?
The only common idea in either is concent. Period. Concent that all parties involved are on the same page and understanding,at the beginning and in perfect world the end.
But shit happens. Shit that SSC doesn't address and if that is what you are depending on to protect you; will leave you wondering what the hell happened. I've seen it happen to both ends of the title scale. I've seen it destroy a Dominants/Sadist reputations and send subs scurrying away never to be seen again.
If you put all your trust in those two words safe and sane, you are settling yourself up for a fall. Ropes slip, whips cut and the mental place we go in this sometimes isn't always the same path back o reality.
You can tell yourself all day long that it won't be you...until it is. All I would encourage anyone to to is take another look and maybe start looking more at the Risks to be Aware of and Concent of those involved that they have not only the Knowlege of the Risks but also that things may not always end up Safe or Sane.
I am not saying that SSC is not important just that it isn't the gospel, perfect or the only true way.
My own definition of RACK when approached by those who want to preach the gospel of SSC:
RACK because my Sanity will never be viewed the same as others and what is Safe for me may not be the same for another. Consent comes down as agreeing on the definition by which two agree on what is Safe and Sane. Morals tend to be used in the ethics of what one views as Sane or Safe. I am not Moral in the traditional sense. If at the heart of all we seek is to enhance, promote growth and even through mental or physical pain, pleasure, there is no harm, no foul. Only in the Knowledge of what we are asking to give or receive can we make an Aware decision as to the Risk and Consent we are willing to give or receive.