LOL. I have family members I totally wouldn't be surprised to find are in the scene, but that could definitely be, um, hilariously embarrassing.
Munches are generally pretty safe. :) People go to munches, for the most part, to meet other people in the scene, and just be friendly. It's more social networking than necessarily finding play partners. You can get an idea of what people are like, and if there are play parties / dungeons / other events, generally they will be mentioned.
If you decide to go to a party of some kind, you DO NOT have to play with anyone, and anybody who pushes you should be roundly smacked upside the head. Most play parties have DMs (dungeon monitors), and if you're new and concerned, usually you can talk to the people in charge ahead of time. They can help introduce you to people :)
You're definitely allowed to go if you're only mildly interested! There are people across all ranges. There are people who are into hardcore sadism/masochism, people who are only into mind games, people who are into fluffy handcuffs... runs the gamut. I've only rarely heard of people going all "kinkier than thou", and honestly, generally not in a munch/party situation.
While there are definitely predators, a lot of people are welcoming and protective of newbies, because we know that they're at greater risk. I talk about it here because the kink community has the bad habit of pretending that predators don't exist, when they do, and they gravitate towards positions of power (which is honestly true for predators in general). I think many people I have met in the kink scene are genuinely good people.
Nowadays, a lot of community organization goes on at FetLife. It's free to start an account; do a search for your local area/city and if groups exist, they will pop up. This is generally a good place to ask questions, and feel out how friendly people are. :)
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Munches are generally pretty safe. :) People go to munches, for the most part, to meet other people in the scene, and just be friendly. It's more social networking than necessarily finding play partners. You can get an idea of what people are like, and if there are play parties / dungeons / other events, generally they will be mentioned.
If you decide to go to a party of some kind, you DO NOT have to play with anyone, and anybody who pushes you should be roundly smacked upside the head. Most play parties have DMs (dungeon monitors), and if you're new and concerned, usually you can talk to the people in charge ahead of time. They can help introduce you to people :)
You're definitely allowed to go if you're only mildly interested! There are people across all ranges. There are people who are into hardcore sadism/masochism, people who are only into mind games, people who are into fluffy handcuffs... runs the gamut. I've only rarely heard of people going all "kinkier than thou", and honestly, generally not in a munch/party situation.
While there are definitely predators, a lot of people are welcoming and protective of newbies, because we know that they're at greater risk. I talk about it here because the kink community has the bad habit of pretending that predators don't exist, when they do, and they gravitate towards positions of power (which is honestly true for predators in general). I think many people I have met in the kink scene are genuinely good people.
Nowadays, a lot of community organization goes on at FetLife. It's free to start an account; do a search for your local area/city and if groups exist, they will pop up. This is generally a good place to ask questions, and feel out how friendly people are. :)