longwayhome
Posts: 1035
Joined: 1/9/2008 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: NookieNotes quote:
ORIGINAL: Bhruic quote:
ORIGINAL: NookieNotes I read this one, and actually did a writing on it a few weeks/months ago. I thought it was a very good article for 'pick up play,' and as someone who has run a kink venue, I agree with what she has to say. That said, I think (and many people) miss an important factor when talking about how we discuss consent, and that is the idea of 'informed consent.' In order to truly consent, people have to understand what they are consenting to, including potential consequences, side effects, etc. That may be true... but the responsibility to be informed is on the person giving the consent. We consent to, and generally make decisions about things in our daily lives all the time, where we do not know, or cannot predict, the consequences. Consent is consent. If I give it in ignorance, with no deception on the side of the other party, that's on me. I agree. However, what if it's not deception, but just a lack of clarity? Or the curse of understanding. I know that this might be dangerous for someone with asthma, they may not think to mention it, in the "any medical issues" question, because they are used to living with it, and may not even think about it but once a year... As a top, I make sure to educated BEFORE I accept consent. I feel it is on me to be clear that I believe they know what they are consenting to. I agree it is the responsibility of both parties. The whole consent at first meet can get a bit of a pain in the arse but I would rather be safe than sorry every time. Sure it removes some of the spontaneity but it's a trade off. I'm certainly not giving general consent to anyone on the first or second time for that matter, nor am I accepting it from anyone in that situation. The truth is paradoxically that you can have more spontaneity with someone you know well and have played with before. That messes with the commonly held fantasy of being taken in all sort of unexpected ways by a complete stranger but I prefer my physical and psychological safety (and that of those around me) to the possibility of a fantasy situation that could go very wrong. What people say (or fantasise) about what they want in advance might be less bearable in reality. There is less risk of misunderstanding and more possibility of recovery and healing in those grey areas with someone you know and trust. That is not meant to be a manifesto for long term relationships, just a reason for additional caution initially. Besides with BDSM there are all sorts of fun ways to explore consent in a very verbal and direct way by communicating in advance and using safewords and the like. That just doesn't fit with some people's idea of a pure BDSM fantasy first meet.
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