MovieChat Forums > Swingtown (2008) Discussion > Is Swinging Real or an Urban Legend?

Is Swinging Real or an Urban Legend?


I mean come on, for all the talk about wife swapping, I have never personally known anybody that was into swinging. Does anyone actually know a couple who are swingers?

"Mediocre Marx Brothers is better than no Marx Brothers!"

reply

[deleted]

"Yes, I do. And it ruined their marriage."

Sorry to hear that. It is possible that there were problems other than swinging, and that there were conditions in the marriage that made swinging a bad idea.

It's certainly not for everyone - not for most, really. It takes a truly special bond and level of trust and honesty to be able to participate in the lifestyle.

reply

What I find amusing is that you will hear stories of how "swinging ruined my marriage", but not many tales that mention how it didn't.

Americans don't seem to be ready to hear the opposite.

I do wish Swingtown could have stuck around longer to show successes...even if only fictional.

reply

I find it amusing -- and frustrating. It's an easy "excuse" for people who don't get it to bash the lifestyle.

Typically, when "swinging ruins a marriage" it's because the marriage already had significant issues and they thought that swinging might help.

reply

I don't think swinging ever ruins marriages AS LONG AS both people want the lifestyle. It's a problem when one is coerced or does it to make the other one happy. Then it's a road map to disaster. IMO, these marriages would have broken up anyway.

reply

My parents lived much the same way that Tom and Trina portray.
I can recall mornings after they hosted certain parties to find half dressed, very hung over, people strewn about the furniture and floor. It was no secret in our house, what was going on. They even hosted big trips to Chicago, New York, and San Francisco to visit the sex clubs. It was just something they did, it never bothered me in the least.

The thing was, after a few years, the whole thing seemed to pretty much stop or my folks just stopped hosting, I honestly don't know. Whatever the case, they were married 25 years till my mom passed away and it never seemed to be the cause of any kind of problems with them. In fact, most of the other couples that I saw at the parties were parents of my friends and the majority of them are still together even now.

reply

Haha, yes. People really do swing. But most of them don't tell everybody about it.. So it's possible you do know people, they just don't broadcast it.

reply

Hard to believe you would question this; it absolutely goes on, and to a far greater degree than most would guess, I think. I personally know dozens of couples that do it, and they have told me of dozens of others they know, and that's in just a couple of counties in a small state. I wouldn't be surprised if 10% of all couples -- married or otherwise -- have experimented. For some people, it's a hobby, like bowling; only the alleys are narrower.

reply

"only the alleys are narrower. "

HA!



"Weirdness was all he cared about. Weirdness and sex and plenty to drink."

reply

I appreciate your response to the jest, although you seem to be a cult of one in that regard.









"Two can live as cheaply as one, but it costs twice as much..."

reply

I've known a few couples, and they definitely were not as attractice as the cast, obviously. Most swinging couples are overweight and relatively plain-looking. Mind you this is what I saw from the couples I knew of.

"I AM big It's the pictures that got small."

reply

"I've known a few couples, and they definitely were not as attractice as the cast, obviously. Most swinging couples are overweight and relatively plain-looking. Mind you this is what I saw from the couples I knew of. "
--------

Go to the supermarket, perhaps a high school football game in your area, or some other routine gathering of a large number of people from throughout your town. Take a look around. See the number of "pretty" people? The number of overweight people? The number of "average" people?

Truth is, swingers are a cross section of society as a whole. There are doctors, lawyers, teachers, factory workers, drivers... you name it. Young, old, beautiful, not-so-beautiful, heavy, fit... all are represented.

reply

Urban Legend? Do you live under a rock?

reply

Deleted by Poster.
"Mediocre Marx Brothers is better than no Marx Brothers!"

reply

This coming from the person who believes "if I don't know anyone who has done it... does it exist?" What a sheltered/uninformed life you have.

reply

Message deleted by poster.

reply

[deleted]

Yes, the people who say they are "in a relationship" on facebook then state the gender they are interested in, are swingers. The odds are most likely they are swingers if they are both working. They are somewhat twisted.

reply

It came out in the divorce settlement of actress Jeri Ryan and IL politician Jack Ryan that they went to swingers clubs and that a major disagreement arose when Jack asked Jeri to perform a public sex act and she refused. (Wikipedia)

reply

[deleted]

It's real. You actually may know somebody who does it.

reply

I guarantee you with all the certainty of a sunset, you know swingers. The reality is, they don't want to allow you to know them that way so they don't let you. Your comment here is actually quite evidentiary of this very point. Nothing they hold close is made to be discussed in a public tabloid such as this.

FYI I produced the documentary PlayCouples, The New Era of Swinging. I spent 5 years on this subject studying and meeting with thousands of those you would never think are. I was allowed to do this because of one the founder of its modern movement beginning in the mid 60s His name is Robert McGinley and he formed the Lifestyle Organization. Additionally I met with Al Freidman, retired senior VP of Penthouse who was the same Al Freidman you may remember from the less than accurate feature Quiz Show. These are the people who know, and everything I shared in the documentary was completely verified by eye.

Before you bother to write, NO I never participated in any of their activities but was a grateful film maker and fly on the wall.

reply

Thanks for the information.

"Mediocre Marx Brothers is better than no Marx Brothers!"

reply