August 2, 2011

“Knowledge is consequential. Knowledge currency is social currency on steroids. It’s important, it’s powerful, it’s essential. Thus it is value currency.” –Tim Sanders

Local kinksters are a small part of any community, let alone a small town.  Active local kinksters who will attend munches and events represent an even smaller number.  Imagine being a single person interested in establishing traditional Master/slave relationships.  You are one of 10 people at a munch and all but one are paired up.  And the one is more of a swinger who has no interest in TPE.  Typical story for most of us who live in small towns with small munches.

Things can get complicated when you have a finite group competing over scarce resources.  It’s Macroeconomics 101 outside the classroom!  You witness first hand, up-and-close all those inane theories as they come to life with actual people making real decisions.   However, the currency isn’t legal tender.  The currency of choice is one’s social capital.

It’s interesting to watch people as they spend their currency.  I followed a local group’s talk about The Next Generation (TNG – a subgroup within the community who admits only 18-35 year olds & their partners to events).  Comments were made about why TNG exists.  The most common one was:  Young people who are curious about kinky stuff are more comfortable at meetings with other young people.  This is ‘politically-correctese’ for the younger crowd wants to get together without a bunch of old farts circling like vultures.

The old farts usually represent the established Old Guard in the local community.  They’ve been around the scene.  They’ve got all the pretty toys.  Usually they’ve got private play space.  And they have the stories about years of play.  They’ve got social capital.  But do they have the morality to back it up?  Some do.  Some do not.  Hence why having TNG events is critical for a strong community.    A case for TNG events is when a single woman in her mid 20s goes to a munch and the after party, ends up having one of the Old Guard shove a hand down her pants without consent while on the dance floor.  Not cool.  Currency balance is in the negative for those who act like vultures upon the new people on the scene.  Those inane theories are not always about the good guys winning or everyoen getting a happy ending.