Couples Say Swinging Improves Relationships, Others Disagree
A 2005 study conducted by the Kinsey Institute, a leading sex, gender, and reproduction research institute located at Indiana University, revealed that 2-4% of married couples in North America – that’s about 4 million people – are swingers. As of 2012, some experts have concluded that as many as 15 million Americans engage in swinging on a regular basis. No, we’re not talking about people who go swinging at the park (although I guess they could). Swingers, in this sense, are either single individuals or people in committed relationships who engage in sex (or activities of a sexual nature) with others as a recreational or social activity. Fundamentally, swinging is most different from regular relationships because it isn’t monogamous, but the differences go deeper than that. So why has swinging become so popular, how is it different from cheating, and should you do it?
Swinging has occurred for centuries. Although it may not have gone by the same name, some of the first documented cases of swinging in the US occurred during World War II. Then, U.S. Air Force pilots, who had high mortality rates during the war, would make pacts with other men so that their wives would have companions if they died or were gone for long periods of time. This companionship was both emotional and sexual in nature, and similar cases popped up after the Korean War. At this point, swinging had migrated into the suburbs and eventually caught the attention of the media who subsequently coined the term “wife swapping.” A group of Californians established the Sexual Freedom League in 1963, the first so-called swinging club in the United States, and before long the North American Swing Club Association was established to create a wider network of swingers. Ultimately, swinging began in the military and ended up as a growing component of American culture.
Today, the act of swinging has been propagated by the Internet, where online swingers’ communities are becoming more common. These sites have hundreds of thousands of members, all waiting to swing with each other. But the growing presence of these sites brings to light several issues associated with swinging. Do these sites make swinging just another way to hook up with strangers? If ...
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My wife and I have and open marriage and have shared partners without any problems. Many of our past problems were related to fulfilling our sexual desires without honesty and openness. Since we’ve chosen our new lifestyle, it has made us more honest and open about our sexuality without hurting each other.
This lifestyle is not for everyone and carries risks, but far less risk than our previous lifestyles in which wanted things very badly and like most humans could only hide our urges so long before acting on them and feeling a great amount of shame. It was not until we both realized what we wanted and came to an agreement with a structured set of rules to protect our emotions that we have enjoyed a fabulous marriage.
Swinging is not the future of marriage.
Swinging makes the future of a marriage become divorce.
Swinging is just a cute or exciting sounding word that gets things from better to worse a whole lot quicker than you’d hope for.
Read the vows.
Swinging isn’t marriage. It’s one of the enemies of marriage.
I knew several couples who decided this would perk up their marriages/relationships. My hubby and I did not join but were aware of the meetings and escapades. All was fine in the beginning,the excitement and newness of it all. Then a year or so into it the problems began. One spouse wanted to swap with another couple too often, then he saw the other wife without the spouses and one family, well, the teenage kids found out what mom and dad did as a hobby. Long story short, not one marriage survived, families were destroyed, kids lost respect for their parents and things just got really ugly. We no longer speak to the other couples because the drama was just too much. Not one person involved saw this coming, but we did from a distance. All were educated, nice people who thought they could handle the jealousy and emotions that come into play when having sex. I ran into one of the wives involved and she asked me if we were still married. I said yes, she said she would still be with her ex if they didn’t sleep with the neighbors. So sad. Very Weird.
For those who think that sex is a sport and marriage is just a convenience then go right ahead. I will keep on enjoying the freedom of selflessly sharing everything with wifey within the safe boundry of our marriage!
The Romans were having sex with each other all over the place. It seemed to work for them. They had paintings on all their walls of their sexual activity with their partners, their friends, often having sex in front of their slaves. Everyone was at it. Their whole approach was open, it was not until Christianity came along that we put rules on it and sex changed. We seem to have more problems now than in Roman Times.