Skip to Content
Culture

‘OUCH!’ Is a Universal Safe Word, Right?

A messy encounter with "the finest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting my hands" in this week's Savage Love.

A friend hooked me up with a much younger guy for weed. Let’s call him “Pretty Boy.” He knew something about me—Pretty Boy had been to a party at my house—and I knew something about him: he’s a burner, like our mutual.

Consent is supposed to be a core burner value and before we hook up, Pretty Boy asks if he can bring his paddles. So, we had a talk and I tell him I’m open to a little pain, but I’m mostly meh about it. (Except love bites. I love me some love bites.) Long story short: Pretty Boy thinks he’s a great fuck cuz he’s got a great big one and can pound long and hard. My pussy ain’t been touched in almost three years but so far as I know “OUCH” is the universal safe word! Maybe I should’ve picked a better one because I had to say it so many times! 

I figured it was heat of the moment stuff, so I wasn’t mad, and agreed to hook up again. Much more OUCH, but on both sides this time. (Love bites!) Next day I'm figuring out how to manage this. I find a thing called an Ohnut and I tell Pretty Boy I’m willing to plunk down the money. Whatever it takes to make his PIV pounding less OUCH. And then we have this conversation:

Sore Lady: “So, surely this has happened before, yes?”

Pretty Boy: “Of course it has. LOL.”

Now I’m mad. This motherfucker knew! He did it on purpose! I ask him point blank if he got off on it and he won’t answer. Which means he did. Now I want to set him on fire. But here's the thing: Pretty Boy is the finest thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting my hands on in my entire life. I warned him that I have a history of channeling my rage into intricate revenge plots, most too crazy to carry out. I did rat him out to the dude who hooked us up. As for Pretty Boy, I could tell him to sit down, shut up, and hear my truth, but I already delivered that message. (See: OUCH.) I should probably slam the door and lock it, but he is the finest thing! And I’ve never had a hookup that wasn’t a little bit sketchy. But this is too much, right? RIGHT?

Boys Are Supposed To Ask Right, Dan?

P.S. I didn’t even cum either time!

So, Pretty Boy doesn’t care if you come or not, he ignores your feedback during sex, and he engages in rough sex knowing it’s sometimes painful—in a bad way—for his sex partners.

Fuck that guy.

By which I mean, of course, don’t fuck that guy. But you’re obviously tempted to fuck that guy again, BASTARD, as you make clear in your letter. (A letter I spent an hour editing for, um, clarity.) You wanna fuck Pretty Boy again because he’s the “finest thing” you’ve ever gotten to touch. Pretty Boy is so hot, BASTARD, that you’re tempted to fuck him despite wanting to set him on fire—in a bad way—after you spoke to him about the sex being painful.

Look, BASTARD, having a hot FWB is great, but having a hot FWB—or boyfriend or girlfriend or enbyfriend—who’s a shitty, selfish, inconsiderate lover is a lot like owning a house with an amazing view that happens to be right next door to a trash incinerator. Sooner or later you get used to the view and start taking it for granted, BASTARD, and the only you really notice after that is the stench.

Still, if you’re inclined to extend Pretty Boy the benefit of the doubt, BASTARD, it wouldn’t be hard to whip one up. He’s young! It’s entirely possible all the women he’s fucked up to this point in his short life liked his style, i.e., long and hard pounding! It’s also possible the woman he’s fucked hated his style and, like you, hoped Pretty Boy would hear “OUCH,” stop, solicit their feedback, and correct course. Seeing that’s not something he’s either able or inclined to do, you’re gonna have to use your words and the actual leverage you have over him—your pussy, not your mutuals—to get him to fuck you without physically hurting you.

If he wants back in your pussy, tell him he has do it/things/you differently. More foreplay, going slower, using lube, not going all the way in (with or without an Ohnut)—whatever he needs to do to make sex more comfortable and pleasurable for you, that needs to be a clearly-stated (by you!) and enforced (ditto!) condition of him getting anywhere near your pussy ever again.

And if he laughs it off, BASTARD, set him on fire*.

P.S. What happened to the paddles?

Go to Savage.Love to read the rest.
questions@savagelove.net
Listen to Dan on the Savage Lovecast.
Follow Dan on Twitter @FakeDanSavage.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racket

Let’s Go Out Like a Lamb With Your Complete Concert Calendar: March 24-30

Pretty much all the music you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

March 24, 2026

Wanna Buy a $38M Police Training Facility?

Plus sports bars thriving, HCMC in peril, and rural MN growing (for now) in today's Flyover news roundup.

Femcels, Dry Spells, and a Victory for Free Speech: Let’s Listen to Some New Music Playlists

5 great new local songs, 5 great songs from everywhere else, and 1 song to send you running screaming from the room.

March 24, 2026

Meet the Blanket Lady, a Gophers Basketball Superfan Who Blazed Trails for Women’s Hoops

Plus Lake Superior bones, Tom Barnard's health woes, and a wild Duluth Zillow listing in today's Flyover news roundup.

March 23, 2026

Since 2023, the Twins Have Been Reverse ‘Bad News Bears’

Heading into 2026 expectations and fanbase morale are as low as the bottoming-out payroll, so we might as well revisit recent Twins history through the lens of a classic 1976 film.

Hamm’s Fest, No Kings, Pintwood Derby at Fulton: This Week’s Best Events

Plus a glove shop Twins party, a mutual aid concert, and a send-off for Headflyer.

March 23, 2026
See all posts