To The Camden Munch

Originally written and published in 2018.

What it’s like inside the tamer side of the fetish community’s social scene - munches.

E. L. James began a revolution of sorts. If the name sounds familiar, she’s the author of the book series ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’. Ever since its literary debut and the premiere of its first movie, in 2011 and 2015 respectively, the once-taboo and underground scene of BDSM and fetish were thrust into mainstream popularity, and the general public was enraptured.

BDSM culture isn’t new, it’s been a part of London’s underground club scene since the 1960s, known almost notoriously for their X-rated parties, where people of all ages and sexualities dress in their BDSM-best, drink copious amounts of alcohol and engage in some good and dirty (consensual) fun.

Little do people know, there are gatherings for the fetish community that are much more docile than the ones that we hear about, and they’re called munches.

But, what is a munch?

A munch is a social gathering where individuals of the fetish community can get to know each other, swap stories, be themselves and bond with people of similar interests over a few beers. Every area in London has a ‘FetLife group that will organise their own munches, and the most recent one in Camden took place in 17 Camden Lock, a little bar next to Camden Market.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think you were just at a regular bar filled with regular people. You’d never imagine that the one thing that unified this diverse crowd was that they were all absolute freaks in the bedroom.

“You would expect to see things about fetishes, which are so ‘obscure’ and ‘abnormal’ and it was a surprise for me to see that everyone was very ‘normal’, they just had certain kinks that they like to indulge in,” said Kamya, a London College of Fashion student and first-time attendee.

While some people wore latex and leather to the gathering or changed into dressier frocks after arriving, the munch’s dress code was ‘vanilla’, which means everyone wore their everyday clothes. The age gap was surprisingly large, with the youngest among them being in their early twenties, to the oldest being in their mid-sixties.

From university students and sales assistants to businessmen and lawyers, everyone was there in a safe space, where they felt that they were able to be open with their fetishes, and their sexuality, and there was a colourful spectrum of LGBTQ+ individuals in the mix. With drinks in their hands, people mill around, chatting to old friends, and making friends with strangers.

As newcomers stepping into the scene for the first time, being surrounded by people who have such a deep and rich understanding of the fetish scene, and years of experience is intimidating. But, the experienced members of the community are always willing to give advice to first-timers, and they are never made to feel bashful or ashamed of asking even the most basic of questions. As one member who chose to remain anonymous said, “everyone was new to the scene once”.

If you’ve ever been interested in stepping into the fetish community out of pure curiosity or because you want to find people with similar interests, try a munch. It’s not as terrifying and weird as popular media would let you think it is.

Check out londonfetishscene.com for all the latest news and upcoming events happening all around London.