When it comes to consent , ‘no means no’ doesn’t go quite far enough. Such a contractual approach is a bit too static for an act as mercurial as sex or kink, where shame, fear, resistance and reluctance might all be on the table and be desirable experiences. Especially in BDSM, where power dynamics are heightened and harnessed (no pun intended!) on purpose, firm consent guardrails are essential to creating a safe and empowering scene.
For decades, BDSM communities have been the main crafters and disseminators of the consent frameworks (and nifty acronyms) you might hear floating around kinky spaces: predominantly, S.S.C., R.A.C.K. and P.R.I.C.K. This brief overview will help you unpack their meanings, explore their relationship to each other, and learn the strengths and imperfections of each system.
These consent frameworks aren’t prescriptive, nor exhaustive, and are always evolving – in fact, this whole article could be outdated eventually. The trick is to stay limber and receptive, and make minor adaptations as needed — much as in ropes!
The OG: S.S.C. (‘Safe, Sane and Consensual’) A veritable ‘10 commandments of kink’, S.S.C. is the original consent framework. It was established by a committee of American activists named Martin Berkenwald, Bob Gillespie and david stein. Regulars in their local leather scene in the ‘80s, the three men formed a small committee called the New York Gay Male S/M Activists, or the GMSMA. They’d grown concerned with the number of incidents involving predatory ‘Dominants’ and unsuspecting subs in the community. There were also many novice kinksters unsure of how to safely learn the ropes.
Eager to help, the GMSMA produced a report designed to bridge the gap between enthusiasm and ethics in the leather scene. Published in 1983 , the report marked the first known usage of ‘Safe, Sane, and Consensual’. Groundbreaking for its unabashed kink-positivity and its refusal to pathologize enthusiasts, ‘S.S.C.’ caught on quickly in leather clubs in US cities, which were also hotbeds for education and activism. The intent was to make the S&M community’s values known to both newcomers and outsiders, many of whom saw the practice as harmful or antisocial, or conflated it with domestic violence.
The intent [of S.S.C.] was to make the S&M community’s values known to both newcomers and outsiders, many of whom saw the practice as harmful or antisocial… Illustrator: Eysar Vargas
Decades later, S.S.C. remains the blueprint from which newer consent frameworks continue to evolve (more on that below). But over time, S.S.C. has garnered criticism for ableism in its phrasing , the implication that there are definitive ways to categorize kink, and the senselessness of trying to police the barriers, even theoretically. There’s even debate over whether kink can ever truly be ‘safe’ at all, let alone inherently. Therefore S.S.C. has been more or less retired as its descendants have entered the spotlight in recent years.
The Eye of the Beholder: R.A.C.K. (Risk Aware Consensual Kink) R.A.C.K. is the first S.S.C. offshoot that really gained traction. Much like its predecessor, ‘Risk Aware Consensual Kink’ also champions consent and general safety, and it even improves the outreach factor by adopting a more memorable and pronounceable acronym. R.A.C.K.’s ideological departure from S.S.C. is where it confers authority over determining safety. In fact, that’s exactly why this new theory emerged to begin with, around the turn of the new millennium.
Unlike S.S.C., which comes across as declarative, R.A.C.K. employs a more subjective approach, shifting the responsibility for abiding by these values onto individuals rather than the community, and removing the impetus for kinksters to judge and police each other. R.A.C.K. also sidesteps the debate over safety by shifting the focus to risk , acknowledging the inherent risks of certain acts (like breath play or rope bondage, for example), and encouraging wary kinksters to evaluate their own risk tolerance, and act accordingly.
R.A.C.K. also sidesteps the debate over safety by shifting the focus to risk , acknowledging the inherent risks of certain acts… Plus, it’s not just risk tolerance that’s variable throughout the population — so is pain tolerance, and shame tolerance, and tolerance of anything else that’s unpleasant for some of us and exhilarating to others (in the right setting, of course). Safe and sane just don’t mean the same things to all of us, and that’s okay! As long as we’re all using our judgment and exercising our autonomy, we’ve got what we need for a good time, right?
Illustrator: Eysar Vargas The Gen-Z Darling: P.R.I.C.K. (Personal Responsibility, Informed, Consensual Kink) It’s a common misconception that P.R.I.C.K. is just R.A.C.K. with a TikTok account, given the resemblance it bears to its elder sibling and that it was likely born on the internet. Many wonder what it really adds to R.A.C.K., which already seems to account for personal responsibility. But because of the way that P.R.I.C.K. accounts for outcomes and not just intentions, there is, in fact, a meaningful distinction to be made.
With R.A.C.K., kinksters are encouraged to erect their own boundaries for participation around their personal tolerance for risk. However, no amount of preparation can guarantee an optimal outcome every time. Things can still go wrong, from miscalculations to outright accidents, leaving participants looking for somewhere to place blame. Oftentimes, it’s laid at the feet of the dominant or the most experienced player involved, which — depending on different factors — may not be appropriate.
No amount of preparation can guarantee an optimal outcome every time… That’s where P.R.I.C.K. comes in. That’s where P.R.I.C.K. comes in — by making explicit that you’re not just ‘aware’ of the risks, but that you’re choosing to subject yourself to those risks, and therefore must assume the responsibility for any unfavorable outcomes. Barring consent violations, which are always the responsibility of the violator, this assumption of responsibility can help affirm your autonomy and sense of control if things go off-script, while also preventing the dominant/more experienced player from being the de facto custodian of another person’s wellbeing.
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