Over the last several weeks, conversations have swirled around in my head, shifting and recombining, but one particular one stands out. And since this is a long topic with two sides, it's really going to be split into two installments. The first being the benefits of the motto of Safe, Sane, and consensual, and the second being the problems that it creates.
Thought for the Day: What is Safe, Sane, and Consensual, and why is it important to keep that in mind when talking to people that are involved in BDSM?
Answer of the Day: To understand where the importance of Safe, Sane, and Concensual(hereafter, SSC) lies, As well as where its faults are, each part must be understood.
Safe, in the context of BDSM, means that all participants take whatever precautions they deem necessary to ensure that no harm come to the participants. Harm, in this case, is distinguished from hurt. Hurt is what may or may not be inflicted on a person if they want that. Harm is what may unintentionally happen through accident or inattention.
Sane, which is possibly the hardest to pin down, has been defined by many as those activities that the participants can mentally and physically handle without causing harm to one of the participants. An alternate definition that some people will use requires sane to be those activities with the community determines to be only marginally harmful. This, then, is where many of the problems with SSC come from.
Consensual is probably the most widespread of the three parts of this motto that is adhered too. All participants should consent to what is going to happen within either the relationship parameter or for a smaller, limited time period.
These, then, are the components of an idea that most people involved in BDSM seem to adhere too. Why do they adhere to it? As a person just starting to get involved in BDSM, it provides a guideline for them to help determine what they can do. SSC becomes a framework for them to learn within and grow until they are at the point where they can look at the ideas that SSC espouses with an open mind and decide if they wish to stay within that framework or step outside of it, either occasionally or permanently.
As a point to begin growing, SSC is a good start. But it is not the end point of all that a person involved in BDSM should live by. It has it's bad points as well as its good, like any other thing. But that will have to wait for next time.......
