What is the Louisville Munch?

By Mr. Michael

The Louisville Munch is the oldest gathering in Kentucky for people interested in BDSM. It offers the opportunity to socialize with other interested people, and take part in discussions on issues pertinent to practitioners of BDSM.

The Louisville Munch was founded in October 1997 by Ms. Constance as a real-time gathering place for people in a particular IRC chat room on the internet. In August of 1997, about 40 people from around the world who all called the #surrender channel on IRC home gathered in Louisville. Many of the participants were from the general region, though others came from The Netherlands, Canada, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and St. Louis. A great time was had by all, leading to the decision to create a gathering place for people to meet face to face and talk about their interest in BDSM and kink. The first regular Louisville munch was held in October and has run continuously since, on the first Saturday of every month in the same regular location other than a move during renovations, without ever canceling a munch since that time. The first munch had 55 attendees, and in November of 1997, the Sunday Munch was added to the schedule as well. The Sunday munch traditionally offers a more intimate and quieter gathering without any formal structured discussion, and meets the fourth Sunday of each month. During the first ten years, Ms. Constance greeted literally thousands of people at the Louisville Munch, saying "Are you looking for the munch? You found it, I'm Constance." She was also the original creator of the "Name Game," something the Louisville Munch is known for.

In September of 2007, Ms. Constance announced her plans to retire from hosting the Louisville Munch and named Mr. Michael the new host starting in October 2007, exactly ten years after she hosted the first Louisville Munch. Mr. Michael has been a Louisville BDSM community member since May, 2001, and had founded the Early Bloomers group in Louisville for people 18-35 years old in August of 2006.

The word "munch" comes from the early days of the public BDSM social scene in the bay area of California during the 1990's. STella, a frequent figure of the internet Usenet group alt.sex.bondage and the email list BABES (Bay Area Bondage Enthusiasts Society), announced intentions for a monthly public real-time meeting at a place called Kirk's Steakburgers in Palo Alto and called them the "Burger Munch." Previous to the Burger Munch, STella had organized other face-to-face gatherings at a coffee shop called Flames in Santa Clara with varying degrees of success and without a regularly occurring meeting time monthly. The Burger Munch was the first incarnation of the type of meetings that take place all over the world now as a public gateway to the BDSM community, without any type of dungeon play, fetish wear, or membership requirements, and recur on a predictable monthly basis.

The primary mission of the Louisville Munch is to act as a social gathering and first-contact gateway for new people with an interest in BDSM. The only requirement to attend is that you must be eighteen years old or older. There is no formal membership or cost to attend aside from the cost of your meal and tip if you choose to eat.

The Louisville Munch Lending Library was founded in 2003 by Ms. Constance to offer literary and instructional media to munch attendees on a donation system. Books, magazines, videos and other BDSM-related media have been donated by many Louisville Munch attendees over the years, becoming a vast and excellent resource for munch attendees who wish to educate themselves on a number of topics for free or for a nominal money or media donation. The library was overseen by Ms. Constance's slave drew, "The Kinky Librarian," during the ten years she was host.

In January 2008, Mr. Michael added another educational component to the Louisville Munch with a discussion panel each month addressing various topics and issues within the BDSM community. These panel discussions do not include any kind of hands-on demos, but rather focus on the mental and psychological aspects of BDSM play. The panel discussions were not added to the format of the Sunday Munches.

The Louisville Munch serves its attendees in a variety of ways, providing safe and confidential networking and social opportunities, educational discussion and materials, and community fellowship for those in Louisville and the surrounding areas who wish to enter or grow within the BDSM lifestyle.