Fetish After Dark works hard to be a positive example of ethical kink and BDSM for both our community and the general public. As a performance group, we are often the face of the local BDSM community (something that makes us very proud). However, that does give us the responsibility of discussing and explaining the BDSM community's standards of ethics and morals to the general public.
What do we mean by "Ethical Kink"? Due to the nature of BDSM and relationships like dominant & submissive, the BDSM community has developed a code of ethics which has continued to evolve as society changes.
While not formalized, there are two schools of thought: Safe, Sane, and Consensual (known as SSC) and Risk Aware Consensual Kink (known as RACK). These two groups agree on most aspects of ethical kink, but disagree on the point of safety. SSC believes that all activities should be planned in a way that makes them safe for all participants. RACK believes that, much like driving a car, no activity can be made completely safe, but that all participants should be made aware of the risks before consenting to participate. To be honest, these differences in belief are more academic, as the BDSM community generally accepts both as legitimate standards of ethical behavior.
The large point in both belief systems is consent. This is absolutely the most non-negotiable aspect of BDSM and kink. It is the first principle of Fetish After Dark and we feel that simple consent is not enough. Informed Consent is the keystone of almost all BDSM relationships and play. We can not stress this enough. Without understanding, consent is kind of meaningless. We at Fetish After Dark actually prefer Enthusiastic Informed Consent, which is when someone is excited about participation when they understand the activities to which they're consenting.
Safety and Risk are the other aspect that ethical kink addresses. No matter which school of thought you belong to, both agree that the risk needs to be mitigated. For example, if someone has a serious health condition, that needs to be discussed and steps need to be taken to mitigate that person's risk when they do BDSM.
Remember that a trip to the hospital or urgent care isn't sexy, it's just expensive.
댓글