BDSM Checklist

As I mentioned before, you should know your limits.

It's easy to say you don't have any limits if you have also no experience and everything seems to be so new and exciting, it's also very easy to say you have no limits when everything you've seen is BDSM porn and again, everything was very exciting and arousing, on screen not a lot of things hurt. Tell you what, in your fantasies you can take a lot of pain and it's arousing, also your knees don't hurt, you don't get pins and needles from bondage, kneeling too long oh and your endurance like your erection is endless ;)

Use a bit of common sense and have a little list ready, it helps if you find a dominant and you know what you like and what is an absolute no go. I've said it countless times but it bears repeating, dominants are not mind readers, it's your job as a sub to communicate your limits. It's a little bit like going to dinner, if you don't tell the cook that you have food allergies, they can't avoid using things that you are allergic to.

Pretty often a sub doesn't mention anything and later on it was the bad dominant who violated limits, might work once, might even work twice, but then word gets around and nobody will want to play with you anymore because you look like a professional victim instead of a fun play partner. In case the dominant knows your limit, he or she can work around them, or you can both decide in advance that you're not too well suited.

Here are a few pointers, and I suggest you make a list with all those things and write Yes / No / Maybe.
Don't worry about too many Nos, things will change and what you couldn't ever have imagined at the beginning of your journey might at one point become a maybe, or at a later point even a strong interest and it might end up as a yes, some hard limits will always be the same, and some you should actually have, because self-preservation is quite important.

Just for "shit and giggles" it might actually worth to keep the check list you have now and compare it to another check list further down the line, say in a year or two - in a lot of cases it will look really really different.

I really can't list up everything here, and I think there are more than enough BDSM checklists floating around on the internet, I found one that is quite comprehensive and printable:

Printable BDSM Checklist

The line is really comprehensive and a lot of things are in there and if it's already there, why do another one? So what I'm trying to do here is just give you something to think about and a rough idea what you have to consider.

Most of us have some triggers, some phobias, something that makes us freak out, even stuff that goes back to our childhood. It's really important to let a dominant know, because a submissive having a panic attack is a real mood killer and can be quite dangerous, also mention allergies, especially if it's something that might be part of the play (for example if you have a latex allergy).

So think about what you really fear, are you claustrophobic? In that case, you should mention that before somebody attempts to put you into a cage, if you're an asthmatic maybe you shouldn't indulge in breath play, if you're having heart problems, don't do electrical play...

• Are there some triggers that will bring back bad childhood memories? Some people can't have their faces slapped, others freak out at a beating with a belt, verbal humiliation
• Claustrophobia or panic when being tied up
• Do you panic when you are gagged (breathing problems)
• Do you panic is somebody puts a hood on you - if so mention it
• Anxiety issues
• Playing publicly an issue (job, marriage, just feeling scared...)

• Medical issues  (allergies, heart problems, asthma, diabetic, problems with the knees or back )
• Are you on any medication
• Areas where you just can't stand to be touched
• Marks - where can you have them and how long can they last?
• Blood play and unprotected sex - until you do know your dominant really well and have a good idea about how safe they are and how much attention they put on hygiene, responsibility and sterilization, I would suggest you give that a miss. It might be sexy as hell, but what you can catch is everything but sexy...
• In case you don't want any interaction with other men, say that in advance.
• It's not very likely that somebody will spring urine and feces on you out of the blue, but in case one or both gross you out, it's worth mentioning it!

Again, in case I have forgotten something important, please let me know, this is not a complete list, just a few things to give you pointers and start to make you think about issues you might not have considered.

You also have to be quite honest with yourself about how much time can you really devote to your chosen life-style and be realistic in your expectations. If you fantasize about being submissive but once you've ejaculated it's all gone - maybe you want to think about the whole life-style thing again and stick to pros. Because most dommes won't take too kindly to you pronouncing that you are submissive and losing all interest immediately after your release, it would be a hell lot better if you are open and say you're sexually submissive or just plain kinky. Trust me, nothing wrong with just plain kinky ;)

Safety in BDSM (sub frenzy and meeting a domme)

Talking to a lot of people, I realized that often subs just don't really have a clue about what's acceptable or how it "should be", some of them run into dominants who also don't really have a clue.

Now first of all, just don't rely on the dominant always being in charge, in a scene - unless you get really scared - yes, but before the scene starts, make clear what your limits are. In short don't let your sex drive rule your thinking. BDSM is a game where everybody participates, that means as a submissive or slave, you also have responsibility, you are responsible for yourself and to a certain degree for your own safety.

I have little time and patience for subs (male or female) who think with the lower regions instead of their brain. Yeah, it's powerful, it's sexy, it can go to your head, absolutely, I wouldn't be into it if it wouldn't turn me on, but again, it is NOT a good enough excuse to stop thinking!

People go on a lot about SSC (Safe, Sane, Consensual), to be honest, for me SSC just doesn't cut it, nothing we do is 100% safe, if it is sane - well, debatable, for some people being beaten or beating somebody else is everything but sane, consensual - yes, that is non-negotiable!
In short, I much prefer RACK and it seems to be much more descriptive (Risk Aware Consensual Kink) and accurate, what we do has risks, it's our business (and by that I mean the submissive and the dominant) to be aware of those risks and consensually engage in those kinks. So subbies, there really is no excuse for you to not ask questions and educate yourself (just as much as the dominant should) because that falls under the umbrella of consensual for me.

You do know that very often the bottom (or sub in that case) breaches the consensuality rule? Surprised? You shouldn't be, if the dominant doesn't have the full knowledge and you haven't fully disclosed potential or actual medical problems, how can the dom/me truly and consensually take a risk, especially one he or she isn't aware of.

I know there is the victim mentality and people like to scream abuse, I don't deny that there is a lot of abuse in BDSM (just like there is in vanilla relationships), but remember, you can walk away at any time, you can say STOP at any time, and if you feel you are in danger or the top isn't in control or doesn't know what he or she is doing, that is EXACTLY what you should do. Some of you might be afraid to lose their dominant, tell you what, wouldn't you rather lose a dominant than a limb or end up with some serious injuries? When it comes down to it, your life and health should be a lot more important than a few moments of submissive bliss.

Personally, I'm afraid of sub frenzy, so afraid that I tend to not do any casual play anymore. So far it hasn't happen to me but I also don't want it to happen to me. Let me give you an example, you're at a club and there is also a play area, naturally there will be more guys than women, the guys see kinky things, they see women in sexy BDSM outfits, THEY WANT A PIECE OF ACTION! All of a sudden it seems all their fantasies have come true, they'll approach anybody to get some BDSM action. It happens to women too, to be honest the worst ones to develop sub frenzy are women between 30 and 50 who discover BDSM for the first time, common sense often goes out of the window.

So, you're in a club and you see subs begging tops to play with them, pretty often they don't really know what they want, they want almost any BDSM action, they won't talk about phobias and problems, they don't mention limits... Yes of course the top or dominant should ask, but again, also the responsibility of the sub to mention it, remember, it's a game for adults, so be a freaking adult! At one club there was a massive scandal and uproar, one guy freaked out completely, he forgot to mention that he's got claustrophobia and tends to freak out when being tied up. Hey, that's really smart isn't it? You know somebody who'd ask me to whip them and lets me tie him up and then screams bloody murder and abuse - I would expect that the person tells me about those problems, I am not a mind reader and it's not the most common problem, also not one you should expect. The nature of the beast is simply, that when it comes to public play the dungeon monitors have to react and they see somebody in panic, they think the top is responsible. In general everybody takes the side of the "poor subbie".

After seeing situations like that (not too often but to be honest, just the rare occasion is enough), I came to the conclusion that unless I do know you, and I know you're a responsible adult, I won't run the risk to be branded the villain or abuser, because we consensually entered a scene and you didn't know your limits, or decided to not tell me your limits, or you just "forgot" to tell me.

Also a sub, don't just play with anybody, you know it's your skin that's on the line, make sure the person knows what he/she is doing, watch them for a while, talk to them. You might be gagging for a scene, but seriously, you do want to get an impression of the person who's going to top you. A short talk can't really rule out all doubts and make something safe, but it can make it safer, if they appear to have had drinks and are under the influence of booze or anything else - give it a miss. Ask them how long they have been playing and ask a few things about their equipment. Of course you don't want to appear like an officer who's cross-examining them, but you can have a respectful discussion about their toys, like admire the whip and ask how long they had it, act a bit stupid and ask if it's difficult to care for whips, pretend to be ignorant and say "Leather is great, you just have to clean it with a wet cloth!" In case they agree with you enthusiastically, you don't play with that person, because he or she knows fuck all about hygiene standards, and do you really want to be whipped (where there is ALWAYS the danger of skin being broken) with a whip somebody else just has been whipped?

Play with somebody who has several crops, riding crops are relatively cheap (equestrian stores - end of lines, you get a lot of crop for your buck, about 3 times as many as you get in a BDSM supply store, if you don't have an equestrian store nearby, go online) easy to transport, easy to clean (if the disinfectant ruins them, it's a few bucks) they can't do as much damage as a whip. 

A really good and smart thing would be to bring your own crop(s), in the UK you can get a good riding crop for as little as £3 (that's about $5 - even cheaper if you buy in bulk) if you buy end of lines. It's a good way to start a conversation with a dominant you like, especially if you give her or him a present of a crop (most dominants are toy whores anyway) and it's a lot cheaper than buying them a drink, which is possibly what most of the other subs are trying to do.
You do stand out a bit from the crowd, you make a good first impression, if she decides to play with you, you brought your own equipment (which didn't cost a lot) and you don't have to worry how many other people were beaten with that crop without it being properly cleaned...

Actually, there is a lot more to be said about safety and meeting dominants, so be prepared for occasional updates on the subject...