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| Thu 10 Sep 09, 12:11 PM Fire_Fox UK(DD), 3 yrs   |
Nothing important, just my thought of the day , but have you noticed ANY changes in the scene since you joined? (This one is mainly aimed at the longer serving members of the community.) I've been chatting to a few folk and we got on to the topic of things improving withing the scene and, as there seem to be a steady trickle of posts containing words to effect of “things are improving”, I was wondering if that was really true or just wishing it was true. One comment was that for many people the “scene” is just a phase or, like so many things you used to do, something that you'd like to do again but just have other things to do instead. Things like:- are there more or less people attending munches or functions? Are there more or less munches or functions to attend? Is the average age changing? Are there more or less of a particular gender coming or leaving? Are there more Subs or Dom/mes than there used to be? Etc. Obviously people come and go but I'm curious to know if anyone has noticed any general differences or changes?
Mind what people do, not only what they say for deeds will betray a lie. | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 12:18 PM harley_quimm UK, 4 yrs |
this would be intriguing to know. i wonder if anyone has worked out statistics..? oooh squiggly line in my eye fluid.. | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 12:19 PM bohnanza UK(FK), 12 yrs |
Since the advent of the internet there are more events. The people who go to these events are fundamentally the same since I started going to stuff in 1992, as are the events. From speaking to someone who went to stuff in the early sixties, both in Edinburgh and London, it would appear the average age profile is older now than it was then, possibly by people staying around, though there aren't that many people who stay around for any length of time. Science, the only religion that works even if you don't believe in it. | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 12:22 PM slave2ma UK, 5 yrs |
If I expressed some of my thoughts on change I fear at least 80% of the posts would throw rocks. Thus some observations rather than insights Changes since I first went to BB and D at Westward Bound Firstly I think there is now much more display of fancy dressing at Clubs but conversely more play, secondly Clubs occur at weekends, thirdly there are now munches everywhere thanks to internet and lastly the club attendees are getting younger or is it that me? The source of all unhappiness is other people Edited 10 Sep 09, 12:23 PM by slave2ma | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 1:02 PM bohnanza UK(FK), 12 yrs |
It is you. In the early sixties there were very few people of 40 or above. Science, the only religion that works even if you don't believe in it. | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 1:07 PM janusxuk UK(HP), 7 yrs |
I think that in the years around the turn of the century there was an influx of new people to the scene as access to the internet spread - I for one. This influx led to the growth in munches and clubs. Now I think we are seeing a shake out of those for whom this was a transient interest, something to do on their "list", something to try, and they are moving while those of us for whom this is a core facet of our being will remain. How the community will react to this I am not sure, certainly it will make the economics of running clubs and events such as Lovetrix more of a challenge. I'm not sure though whether the passing on of the testers is a good thing or not. Certainly on one hand having less people around who can be timewasters or not know how to behave with respect to others is a good thing, on the other every community needs to avoid incest and encourage fresh blood if it is to thrive rather than just survive. Many days one day | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 3:56 PM totallycoverme UK(M), 4 yrs |
I've been on and off scene for just under two years now. I don't think it drastically changes to be honest. People are people, bdsm is bdsm and people come and go in all walks of life. Perhaps there's the more subtle change that it's more approachable as a result of the internet but then again, I don't think the internet alone would massively account for a lot due how people who were interested enough could still pursue the scene without the internet if they were that interested in it. What I would say is that the only changes I have noticed are the ones in myself regarding how I view and approach the scene since the earlier days I got involved. I think this would probably apply to everyone though. Isn't it funny that the day we realised we like you was the day you got a pool! | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 4:01 PM Muzzlehatch UK(TN), 7 yrs |
The Internet has made all aspects of human sexuality freely available to those with access. In the 30 odd years I have been into 'it', my observations are that. People find (or are led into) BDSM/fetish. Some stay, some go. Some of those that go, return. Some don't. Numbers are up purely due to increased availability of information. Let's face it without the internet, how would we keep in touch, or find out what's going on (whether munch or club)? Owner and Builder of The Croppery. Dungeon and Breakfast on the sunny East Sussex coast. Organises The St Leonards Munch. A promoter of The Club with no name, Eastbourne | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 4:07 PM totallycoverme UK(M), 4 yrs |
Wow...I'd say this is an improvement then. Ever since getting involved in the scene I've been chuffed to bits at the number of older people who I've been able to learn from...not just in terms of bdsm, just like everything. I feel lucky because I can't think of many other common interests through which I could meet such a vast range of people ranging from my own age to much older. Isn't it funny that the day we realised we like you was the day you got a pool! | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 4:49 PM Jahc99 UK, 5 yrs |
When I think back to the few gigs I went to, in pre-interweb days, obviously there were much fewer to chose from and they were harder to find, of course. But now pretty much everything has a niche event, so way back when, diversity was much more readily accepted. ETA, and we hadn't heard about AIDS... that made a difference too! Why poison your liver when I could eat it for you? Edited 10 Sep 09, 4:51 PM by Jahc99 | ||
| 10 Sep 09, 5:08 PM Purvection UK(M), 8 yrs     |
I took my first steps on to the public scene 20 years and it was not easy, even though I was living in London then, where most of the scene was concentrated back then. I can remember trawling classifieds in Time Out and City Limits, reading between the lines carefully in my hunt for someone kinky. There were no munches, no internet, very few clubs and almost no shops (I bought my first kinky toys in a seedy Soho sex shop because there were no fetish shops then apart from Skin Two). Interestingly, my recollection of demographics is somewhat different. In the late 80s the events I attended were almost overwhelmingly full of people a lot older than me (I was in my mid/late 20s). |
