Safeword

Description

Safewords are usually agreed upon before playing a scene by all participants, and many organized BDSM groups have standard safewords that all members agree to use to avoid confusion at organized play events. The most common safeword system is the "traffic light" system, in which "red" means "stop", "amber" or "yellow" means "proceed with caution", and "green" means "more, please!"

Some couples may feel that they do not need a safeword, depending on the practices involved, since the role of a safeword is filled by usual forms of communication. Less commonly, some couples may agree to abandon the use of safewords including the ability to withdraw consent altogether, especially those that practice forms of edgeplay or those in Master/slave relationships. In such cases, the choice to give up the use of safewords is a consensual act on the part of the bottom or submissive. This practice is usually called consensual non-consent and often considered controversial.

References

References

1. (10 December 2015). "Beyond Safe Words: When Saying 'No' in BDSM Isn't Enough". Broadly.
2. Clark, Tracy. (2012-01-29). "When safe words are ignored". [[Salon.com]].
3. Gilmour, Paisley. (2018-09-17). "Everything you need to know about using safewords".
4. Bauer, R.. (28 October 2014). "Queer BDSM Intimacies: Critical Consent and Pushing Boundaries". Springer.
5. (2 February 2021). "Consensual Non-Consent: Exploring Challenging Boundaries".