Swinging Organisations History Etiquette Subgroups

Typically swinging activities occur when a married, or otherwise committed, couple engages with a similar couple or a single individual. These acts may or may not occur in the same room. Sex on these occasions is often refered to as play.

1 Organisations

Some lifestyle activities are highly organized. There are at least 400 swingers clubs in the USA and over 600 in Europe. Most major cities in North America and western Europe have at least one swing club in a permanent location although they often keep a low profile to avoid negative attention. Swingers also meet through lifestyle magazines, personal ads, swinging house parties, and the Internet.

Clubs are typically divided into "on-premise" clubs, where sexual activity may happen then and there at the club, and "off-premise" clubs where sexual activity is not allowed at the club, but may be arranged at a near-by location.

In North America swingers clubs have a body called NASCA (North American Swing Club Association) that organises membership exchanges, conventions and group holidays. No such body exists in Europe. However swingers from all over the continent congregate in July and August in the nudist town of Cap D'Agde in the South of France where there are around 8 swinger clubs. Cap D'Agde has a population of 30,000 at the height of the season.

To many couples, the lifestyle and the clubs can be at least as much a social venue as a sexual one.

In the USA, many off-premise clubs follow a bar or nightclub format, sometimes renting an entire existing bar for scheduled events. This often relegates these activities to suburbia, where bars in large industrial parks which attract a mainstream clientele during weekdays would otherwise sit empty or closed on weekends when offices shut down.

In Europe off-premises clubs are rare. There are three standard formats: the bar/nightclub, usually smaller, in city centres and focussed around a dance floor; the spa format which has pools, jacuzzis, saunas and steam rooms and where people strip on entry; and the country club format, which is out-of-town, usually serves a free buffet and may include elements of the first two as well as offering large play spaces.

2 History

According to Terry Gould's The Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers (BooksEnthsiast.com), swinging began among U.S. Air Force pilots and their wives during World War II.

Scientific research into swinging has been conducted in the USA since the late 1960s. It has consistently found that swingers have better pair-bonds than monogamous coupleA Couple can refer to any of the following: Mathematics 2 (number), often as in a couple of people Mechanics 2 equal and opposite forces whose lines of action do not coincide are known as a couple . The forces have a turning effect or moment called a Torqs. The most recent and most thorough study, based on an Internet questionnaireA questionnaire is a type of survey handed out in paper form usually to a specific demographic to gather information in order to provider better service or goods. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton. addressed to visitors of lifestyle-related sites, found swingers are happier in their relationships than the norm. 60% of swingers said that swinging improved their relationship and only 1.7% said it made their relationship less happy. Half of those who rated their relationship very happy before becoming swingers maintained it had become even happier. 90% of those with less happy relationshipSee: relational model personal relationship mathematical relationship, including: inverse relationship direct relationship relation (mathematics).s said swinging improved them. Almost 70% of swingers claimed no problem with controlling jealousyJealousy is an emotion experienced by one who perceives that attention, love or affection is being given to a third party when it should rightfully be given to them. For example, a jealous lover might dislike their partner spending time with other members, around a quarter admitted "I have difficulty controlling jealousy when swinging" to be somewhat true but only 6% said this was "Yes, Very Much" true. Swingers rate themselves happier (59% against 32% very happy) and their lives much more exciting (76% against 54% exciting) than does the rest of the population, by surprisingly large margins. There was no difference between the responses of men and women, although more males (70%) than females completed the survey. ((Bergstrand & Williams, Today's Alternative Marriage Styles: The Case of Swingers, Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, Vol.3, 10 October 2000 [1])

Due to the risks of jealousy, swingers most often prefer the lifestyle be something to be used as an enhancement to an already-stable relationship. In the words of one in the lifestyle [2] "if the marriage is in need of repair, I wouldn't suggest this is the time to explore swinging".

Few public healthPublic Health is an aspect of Health Services concerned with threats to the overall health of the population of a community based on population health analysis. It generally includes infectious disease surveillance and infectious disease control and promo concerns are associated with swingers. Condom use is between new partners is strictly enforced by swingers clubs.

3 Etiquette

Some swingers consider the Lifestyle to be a distinct subcultureIn biology, a subculture in a population of a microorganism is when one microbe colony in such a population is transferred onto blank growth medium and allowed to freely reproduce. In sociology, a subculture is a culture or set of people with distinct beh.

The 'prime directive' in swinging is "No means no". This signifies that rejection of a sexual proposal does not require justification and must always be respected. Violation of the ground rules can occasion immediate expulsionIn World War II terms, expulsion was a euphemism for genocide. The Nazis used this term to describe the forced deportation of Jews and other victims to death camps. In the Book of Genesis expulsion refers to the decree of expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Other hard and fast rules include the use of condoms and changing condoms between partners.

In the U.S. it is often regarded as impolite to touch without asking, whereas in Europe including the UK both touching and gently but firmly removing a touching hand are widely regarded as polite non-verbal communication in the swinging context.

4 Subgroups

The neutrality of this section is disputed. See the article's talk page for more information.

NPOV disputes

4.1 Urban swingers

Traditionally swinger clubs have been accepting of all ages and body types. 'Urban swinging' began with Fever Parties in London in the late 1990s and involves affluent metropolitan young people, discrimination on the basis on looks and an upper age limit usually around 40. Urban swinging events include mostly childless, unmarried young graduates and can have average ages as low as the late twenties, whereas ordinary or 'suburban' swingers events tend to have average ages in the 40s. Urban swinging subsequently spread to Manchester (UK), Norway, South Africa and Sweden but not yet to the USA. The critique of urban swinging among traditional swingers is that it is unethical to discriminate. For example the North American Swing Club Association (NASCA) does not accept into membership clubs which are not open to all. The proponents of urban swinging claim an entitlement to peer-group options in this as in other lesiure pursuits.

4.2 Bisexuals

Female bisexuality is extremely common while male bisexuality is rare and unpopular.

4.3 Singles

While most swing clubs have no place for single males, many but not all would readily admit single females - often at a reduced admission price.

One exception is prostitution; as soon as a woman asks for money, she is often no longer welcomed.

While there is a stereotype that sex is what women have and men want, the reality is that some single women have sexual desires that they satisfy at swing clubs. Nonetheless, for every 10-12 couples who express an interest, it may be possible to find one single female but up to a hundred single males. Demand for single males is very limited.

One club [3] states "We receive approximately 2 single females requesting to join our club for every 200 single males that request to join our activities...We will not take the time to match up single with singles and have only matched up a few couples with 2 singles in the past seven years!". Another says [4] "I am single and unattached. Can I join...? As a male, unfortunately No. As a female, Yes. Here's why. We are a couples club and it happens to be a fact that couples, when looking for a threesome to enhance their relationship, are looking for a female the majority of the time, not a male. In addition, the majority of the single women who have attended our functions have tended to be bi or bi-curious...As a single, male or female, you are able to obtain a subscription membership. As a single male you will be unable to attend the majority of club events".

Some oppose the involvement of any singles of any gender in swinging due to fear that they tend to split existing couples.

5 The lifestyle in film and entertainment

The random partner swapping "key party" depicted in Ang Lee's film The Ice Storm (adapted from the novel by Rick Moody) has been reported by someone who attended such parties in the midwest (indiana) in the 1950's. "Key parties", according to this source, were small (3 to 12) couple events where everyone knew everyone else, so all combinations of partners were pleased to spend an evening with each other.

Another movie that talks about Swinging and its effects on the lives of a married couple with kids who seek some sexual adventures is Zebra Lounge .

Another movie involving swinging is The Blood Oranges , in which two western couples, one with children, come together in the fictional Mediterranean village of Ilyria. The film was adapted from the novel by John Hawkes .

Another novel that features swinging is John Irving's The 158-Pound Marriage, in which two New England college professors and their wives enter a ménage à quatre with disastrous consequences.

The movie Eating Raoul is a great comic send-up of swinging stereotypes.

The lifestyle was also the setting for a recent episode of , a popular TV drama depicting forensic investigations.

6 See also

7 External Links

Sexology

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