What Is Consensual Non-Consent? The Kink Shrouded in Fear and Misconception

“I want to be manhandled, and pinned down, but not choked within an inch of my life. I want to be forced and held in position, but not punched until I bleed. I want to be violated… consensually,” says Mae, a 23-year-old Reddit user in her post, on the subreddit r/CNC_Connect. Mae, who is speaking anonymously to protect her identity, is part of a community of over 50,000 people looking for partners to practice consensual non-consent (CNC) with. The CNC kink, also known as rape play, is exactly that — one where two or more people agree to a sexual encounter that emulates rape.AdvertisementUnderstandably, CNC elicits a visceral reaction in those who don’t enjoy it or know enough about it, though those who enjoy it say this comes from misconceptions and misinformation. There’s a lot of planning that goes into a CNC scene, and you can, in a way, think of participants as actors playing a role and exploring a desire that isn’t okay outside the realm of fantasy.Those who practice consensual no...