A BDSM term, It stands for Risk Aware Consensual Kink.
Why use R.A.C.K. rather than the more well known S.S.C.? (Safe Sane Consenual)If you think about it, some of the things that BDSM participants are not really that “sane”, most carry an element of risk, and sometimes, things happen mid-scene that turns the safe into the risky!
So, R.A.C.K. evolved as as an alternative view point, especially for people that see their style of play as more at the edge of sanity and/or safety. For them, R.A.C.K. is a better manner of describing how they behave. Note however that both phrases contain the work Consensual, as this is the bed-rock of all BDSM best/safe practices.
Risk: When planning, Risk is about assessing all the things that can go wrong, even with the best of planning and at the hands of the most experienced player. Risk does not imply Safe; it implies that there can be dangers that have to be weighed before engaging in any activity and mitigated against. However, “Risk” as a concept is a much harder sell to the vanilla world. It somewhat implies that what we do is dangerous, rather than can be dangerous if done incorrectly. From a personaly persoective, I feel that most if not all BDSM can be dangerous to some degree, and I personally work hard to mitigate these risk factors.
Aware: Having assessed the risks for a given BDSM play activity all parties involved must ask themselves; “do you accept those risks and are you aware of what the possibilities are if something should go wrong and they should befall you?” Acceptance means “yes, you are aware of the risk involved and that you knowingly and willingly accept those risks”. Note that there is no debate about whether or not it’s Sane. Aware means that you, after weighing the risks to the enjoyment and benefit of the activity, to YOU that it is sane and that you can make an informed decision. It re-enforces the fact that what we do is in fact up to the individuals participating. It’s honest.
Consensual: Same as above. The people involved in any BDSM play activity are informed consenting adults and that consent has not been obtained under duress (either via physical manipulation i.e.with a gun to someone’s head, or via the far more subtle emotional manipulation).
Kink: This implies that what we do is somewhat outside the mainstream. Kink is an umbrella term and one that is good, in that it covers everyone. What I consider to be kinky you might consider to be boring and mundane, but the term itself covers us both.