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pixelslave -> RE: SSC/RACK (6/2/2008 9:03:21 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: LadyPact
quote:
ORIGINAL: ShaktiSama
I see a significant difference between SSC and RACK. Generally, the lines are drawn around types of play that carry a genuine risk of injury, mutilation or death.
Just as a general rule--when people self-identify as Safe Sane and Consensual, they are generally drawing a line against some or all forms of edgeplay which can result in lifelong mutilation or death. An SSC player simply will not do these these things, under any circumstances, because there is no way to reduce the risks to an acceptable limit. The activities will never be legitimately defined as "safe"--whether they are "sane" or not may be open to debate.
RACK players, on the other hand, will not place these limits on themselves or their activities. They will play any game that is pleasing to all the players concerned, with full awareness of the risks, and usually trying to limit those risks as much as possible--but knowing, at all times, that their games are NOT safe and that there will always be SOME signficant risk, even if you make it as small as possible.
The most common example to come up would be certain types of "breathplay", especially those that involve strangulation. These games always carry a risk of coma, brain damage or death--and unfortunately there is really no way of making the game a lot safer. Jay Wiseman has written a couple of good warning articles on the subject of strangulation which point out the medical realities, so I will not belabor them here. The upshot here is that IF you chose to choke your partner unconscious for your mutual pleasure, you must accept the possibility that he or she will not wake up again. It's a Risk Aware, Consensual Kink.
Some people are not able to accept those risks. Some people are. Personally, I lean toward the SSC side of things myself: I'm not even excessively fond of living visible marks on a partner, much less risking permanent injury or death for the sake of a sex game.
*** I want to put the disclaimer on this that I am only referring these comments about play with only My collared sub. These are not My views when it comes to casual play partners.
I highlighted the above because this is very much the way I see Myself. There are risks involved with a lot of the things that I do. Being aware of the risks doesn't necessarily make the activity safe. It means I take the precautions to make the risk as minimal as possible.
It's very important to Me that clip is aware of the potential danger of anything that I do. These are discussions that we have before a particular activity is engaged. He does know the potential of what can possibly happen beforehand.
Lady Pact,
I think you've restated my comment from my earlier post in a more articulate way. I can't say it loudly enough that much of what is considered SSC still has risks involved, which does not necessarily make it SAFE! The term SSC is very misleading in that regard and as such, IMO associating the term RACK with edge play does RACK a great disservice. There are so many simple things, like keeping toys clean or sterilized as appropriate that those who think they're SSC never consider, but put themselves at great risk when they don't do such things such as when using those same toys with more than one partner. That's just one simple example I can readily think of.
Another would be playing with rope for bondage. Sounds simple enough off hand. Yet tie it too tight or in the wrong place and you can permanently damage a nerve causing someone to lose the use of a hand or even their arm! Do you have EMT scissors immediately at hand to cut someone loose in an emergency? If not, anyone who plays with rope should have them immediately accessible as a precaution. I could go on and on, but I think I've made my point. There's a risk associated with essentially anything we do! Nothing is totally safe. That's the essense of RACK if you read the original author's description. Its not at all about edgeplay, it's about being aware of what the risks are in any activity, understanding them, and then making an informed decision as to whether or not you want to participate in that activity! [&:]
I feel compelled to add that I never understood this until I read the author's material for myself. [8|]
- pixel
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