Safe, Sane, and Consensual in the Playspace

I have to admit to a lapse in sanity. I was looking back over my posts and realized that I had not covered one of the basic ideas in the leather community: Safe Sane Consensual. I will rectify this now.


Safe, Sane, and Consensual is an easy way to judge your and someone else’s play. Safe entails minimizing the possibilities of health, physical or mental problems during play. Sane demands that the play have thought and concern used in it. Use of any drug including alcohol violates this precept. Consensual means that both parties have negotiated the scene and both parties are free to play or not play.

If you have played in a public playspace, then you have come across a Dungeon Master. The Dungeon Master is the final word on whether scenes are Safe, Sane, and Consensual. He makes a determination on the Safe aspects of the scene. Is the play safe for the participants? Is the scene safe for voyeurs? Does the scene conflict with a participant’s health or mental stability? Most of these things can be decided just by looking. If the Dungeon Master has a concern he can quietly speak to the Dominant to get verification. Let me give you an example. When Master brings out the whips in the playspace, it is obvious that he knows what he is doing. He makes sure that there is clearance and space to throw the whip. It is obvious that I know what I am in for. I step up to the cross voluntarily. Our whip play can be contrasted with a novice who picks up a whip for the first time and wraps it around a support beam (yes I saw a man do this and he wonders why no one will let him whip them).

Sane is a concept that is a little trickier. What is completely insane to a person can be a perfectly sane scene to another person. This puts the Dungeon Master at a disadvantage. Knowing the players and their play style helps the Dungeon Master decide what is sane and what is not. Interrogation Scenes that I have participated in looked to be abuse in the playspace. If a Dungeon Master had a question about the sanity of the scene, I or others would explain it to him. This is opposed to the scene where a Dominant ties a submissive to a railroad track and gets in the car and drives off (this scene could be sane if the Dominant has put people there to watch the track and the submissive)..

Consensual play is very important. People involved must have their mental faculties to have informed consent. In negotiation, a submissive can say that I will do anything You ask of me. He has consented. But should the play become unbearable, the submissive can stop the play at anytime. I can demonstrate this concept by talking about a abduction and flogging scene. A consensual and a non-consensual scene look the same from the outset. But as time goes on, the non-consensual scene will have the submissive fighting for dear life and very angry.

Safe, Sane, and Consensual is a good way to judge our personal play. Because it is so fluid, a person should never be offended if someone asks about these three words in relation to a scene. It is the community taking care of its own and expelling those who can’t play by the rules. Play well together and be safe…..sane and consensual.



sb vince