| abstract | - Sometimes a word that really means "No" is needed, but the actual word "no" isn't available for one reason or another. A "safe word" can be aimed at the person who interacts with you, to underscore that you really need to hit the emergency brake. Or it could be meant for a third party that might come to your aid. Or both. In the American BDSM subculture, three safe words are widespread: Red for full stop emergency shutdown, yellow for "This is too hard, I need us to slow down," and green for "Don't mind my screams, you can push harder." Other countries' BDSM scenes can be considerably more lax, though, with some even foregoing safewords altogether and placing the responsibility on the dom to ensure that things don't get out of hand. Of course, any word can be used as a safe word. And the concept is not limited to sexual situations either. Commonly used by undercover operatives of all kinds while wearing a wire or being in a bugged room. When Played for Drama, (sub)cultural flavor or similar, the safe word is likely to be either "red" or some other simple word that isn't easily used by mistake. When Played for Laughs, it is instead likely to be: 1.
* Something hilariously unsexy, such as the name of an Ugly Politician Local to Area Where Writer Lives. 2.
* Something which can be confused easily with something else, leading to hilarious consequences when the safe word is invoked by mistake. 3.
* Something which is hard to remember or hard to pronounce, giving the character a really hard time. Compare Safe, Sane, and Consensual. Contrast Trust Password. No sexual or sexualized Real Life Examples Please. Non-sexual examples are okay. Examples of Safe Word include:
|
