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4Cs (Caring, Communication, Consent, Caution)

The 4Cs stands for Caring, Communication, Consent and Caution, and it is described as one of the less well known models of consent in BDSM[1].

Sources: grade A×1, grade B×4, grade C×3. Last checked 8 October 2026. What the grades mean

Consent within BDSM is the explicit and informed agreement by a participant to engage in specific acts or types of relationships[2]. It attracts much attention within BDSM, which has produced competing models of consent such as safe, sane and consensual and risk-aware consensual kink[2].

Safe, sane and consensual (SSC) is described as the most recognisable and popular model of consent in BDSM circles, though not without criticism[3]. Risk-aware consensual kink (RACK) is the second most popular model[4]. The community has adopted SSC and RACK, with the 4Cs as a new addition[5].

Consent in BDSM can be limited both in duration and content[5]. One study found that BDSM negotiations to establish consent consist of four parts covering style of play, body parts, limits and safewords[6].

Sources

  1. Source grade CKaak, Ayesha. "B&D, S&M, D&S, RACK, PRICK, SSC... An entree of acronym soup and kink" . Australian National University. academia.edu (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  2. Source grade BWilliams, D.J. (2014). "From "SSC" and "RACK" to the "4Cs": Introducing a new framework for negotiating BDSM participation" . Journal of Human Sexuality . 17 : 1– 10 – via Gale Academic. go.gale.com (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  3. Source grade CJacques, Trevor (1993). On the Safe Edge: A manual for SM play (1st ed.). Toronto, Canada: WholeSM Publishing. pp. 3– 4. ISBN 9781895857054 . (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  4. Source grade CSwitch, Gary (2001). " "Origin of RACK: RACK vs. SSC" " . Vancouver Leather . Archived from the original on 2009-05-01 . Retrieved 2024-04-18 . web.archive.org (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  5. Source grade BDunkley, Cara R.; Brotto, Lori A. (22 April 2019). "The Role of Consent in the Context of BDSM". Sexual Abuse . 32 (6). doi : 10.1177/1079063219842847 . ISSN 1079-0632 . PMID 31010393 . S2CID 128359900 . doi.org (via Wikipedia: Dominance and submission)
  6. Source grade B“Conversational-Phases-in-BDSM-Pre-Scene-Negotiation” Journal of Positive Sexuality journalofpositivesexuality.org (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  7. Source grade ABrown, Ashley (2019). "A Systematic Scoping Review of the Prevalence, Etiological, Psychological, and Interpersonal Factors Associated with BDSM" . Journal of Sex Research . 57 (6): 781– 811. doi : 10.1080/00224499.2019.1665619 . PMID 31617765 – via Taylor & Francis. tandfonline.com (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)
  8. Source grade B”collarncuffs.com on safewords” collarncuffs.com; Holt, Karen (2016). "Blacklisted: Boundaries, Violations, and Retaliatory Behavior in the BDSM Community" . Deviant Behavior . 37 (8): 917– 930. doi : 10.1080/01639625.2016.1156982 – via Taylor & Francis. tandfonline.com (via Wikipedia: Consent in BDSM)

Grades: A systematic review or official classification, B peer-reviewed study, C expert or community organisation, D practice from the community without research. How we grade sources.

Every claim was checked against its source before publication. Last checked 8 October 2026.