SSC vs. RACK?
A friend of mine pointed out that she actually knew the person who originally thought up the acronym RACK, and they were apparently quiet flabbergasted by the debate his cleverness has caused. According to my friend, the originator had no intention of RACK being a �versus� and basically wanted to make up something that �meant the same thing, but you could remember it.�
I tend to agree. I always thought the differences between the two were pretty minute. Certainly worthy of mention, but it�s now at the point where the debate itself is more noteworthy than the meaning of the words. I won�t spend your or my time writing out definitions of individual words, save to say, �in essence� the meanings are quite similar. But even further, the two phrases could be considered complimentary.
Looking simply at the words, it seems to me that RACK (Risk-Aware Consensual Kink), describes �what� we do, while SSC (Safe, Sane and Consensual) refers to �how� we do what we do. Nothing in particular is being proscribed in either acronym, apart from the claim that we �know what we are doing�.
I�m paraphrasing here, but someone recently asked, �What is safe or sane about having a 200 pound, 6�4� Dominant wielding instruments of torture or death on your body when you are handcuffed and hanging from a chain?�
Well, I�d say, given that a sane submissive wouldn�t BE in that position unless they trusted that their experienced Dominant was acting within their agreed limits in the first place, that the submissive is therefore there by choice. Only if she (or he) were insane, would it be a bad situation. (Note to all: don�t play with insane people, it�s not a sane choice ~ ed.)
Therefore, she wants to be in that position. For whatever reason; whether it is a punishment situation where she knows and trusts in her Dominant�s skill and self-control, or whether it�s a heavy play situation where she will be thrilled to the core, she knows no matter what happens next, it will be within what she expects and has already discussed and agreed to with her Dominant.
Yes, it�s risky in terms of the kinds of things that can go wrong when wielding said instruments of torture and death. Yes, we are accepting those risks and are conducting ourselves in a manner where we are aware of them. Yes, it�s kinky. Sheesh, if it weren�t, everyone would be into it. ;-)
Yes, the conduct we engage in is therefore entered into safely. We train and we know how things should happen. Yes, we know what we are doing. Neither party is insane nor driven by a commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
Finally, the pivotal message remains: Consensual. The word appears in both acronyms for a good reason. It�s the central theme of the lifestyle. Yes, we enter into the scenes and situations we do because it is our free choice, without duress, to do so. We have discussed what we should, and we are satisfied with the safety and the risks and sanity of the kinky things we freely choose to do.
I don�t know where the whole Proud to be a Sadist/masochist thing came from. Looking at the words, I can�t see it mentioned. The implications of both phrases are that even the extreme can be consensual. But that�s about it. If some people want to be table-thumpers, then that�s their right. Always has been, always will be. The lifestyle doesn�t judge what we do. One person�s sugar is another person�s lemon. The lifestyle only judges how we do it, and whether it is safe, risk-aware, sane and consensual.
And kinky!
