Choking during sex: many young people mistakenly believe it can be done safely, our study shows
Around half of young Australians have engaged in strangulation during sex. But it’s dangerous, even with consent.
In the bdsm community there are many things that start off scary but as you learn more about you're more likely to feel comfortable engaging in. Choking is the opposite. Some more experienced people choke, but it's something I've come to associate with noobs and the reckless.
I'd like to add this recent article by one of the most renowned bdsm educators on the topic.
AFAIK, choking is considered a safe technique in (for example) judo. Both the sport of judo and the martial art that it is based on are intentionally designed and practiced to be non-injurious. I believe that if there were even a small number of injuries related to strangulation in an average year, the rules would be changed.
The article is not clear on the risks of choking. One of the articles it links to claims that choking related deaths during sex occur less frequently than death by natural causes during sex. Of course, not everyone is choking their partner every time they have sex, so there are fewer opportunities. The article does not go into absolute risk levels or really even make comparisons to other activities.
I went into this a little skeptical but rather concerned. I don't feel like this has given me meaningful information to make informed decisions. But I'll keep my eye out for more information.
Article links to a different article for actual risks. Here they are
Strangulation is linked to many different kinds of injuries regardless of whether there is consent. These can include bruising, sore throat, neck pain, a hoarse voice, a cough, difficulty swallowing, swollen lips, nausea and vomiting.
Other more serious impacts include pregnancy miscarriage, unconsciousness, brain injury and death. Miscarriage and death can occur weeks or months after the initial strangulation.
(...)This includes memory loss and difficulties problem-solving. Brain injury also accumulates so the more strangulations, the worse it becomes.
I mean goddamn, what kind of choking are these people doing that makes their partner vomit and have brain damage ? Who is this for ? I've used choking and been choked and it's certainly not supposed to be even close to this hard. So i guess that's the message. If you're choking your partner until they have memory loss and difficulties problem solving, or pregnant, don't do it.
It provides a laundry list of potential risks, but that is not sufficient for risk assessment. Decapitation is a potential risk of driving, but that fact alone isn't useful for assessing whether or not you should drive.
The title alone makes the assumption that it can't be done safely, so it's BS from the start.
I mean the title doesn't make it BS iff the thesis is correct
