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!"
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I've never seen "The Ice Storm," but from your post I would guess that the "side effects" you speak of are negative.
To be fair, there are "side effects" to many every day activities in which people participate (drinking, cheating, criminal activity, overeating, watching too much tv, spending a lot of time on the Internet on message boards). There are also many positive benefits for those who are cut out for the swinging lifestyle. Doesn't make any of these activities "right" or "wrong" or otherwise.
A belated observation:
Some portion of the population does (or did) swing. Google 'swingers' and 'cruise', as one example, and find legit ads for services aimed at that part of the population.
However, even if, for example, 5% of the population is involved in the 'lifestyle' to one extent, or anotehr, that doesn't mean that 1 out of 20 people you know is a participant. People somehow manage to gravitate to other people with whom they are comfortable. If your group of friends tends to be conservative wrt such matters, then it is entirely possible that none of them do.
Secondly, if your group of friends is relatively conservative wrt such matters as extramarital sex, then it's also they possible that some do (or have) but they recognize that such disclosure will not necessarily be...received well, then it's not likely that they'll disclose, is it?
Thirdly, whether you friends are sexually conservative or a mixed bag, if they sense that the response might be "I mean, come on!".
I've not been a participant, but over a few decades I have, shall we say, tripped over participants, on a lovely carribean island resort, in local hotels a couple of times, and most recently, in an odd little bar on the Carolina's border.
And, just for the fun of it, I believe that the term 'wife swapping' is considered a 'period piece' ripped from the pages of those sleazy newsprint mags of the late 50s and early 60s.
:)
I know quite a few swinger couples. My husband and I regularly go to a swingers club near us. Some marriages/relationships will fall apart because they get into the swinging lifestyle but those marriages are in trouble to begin with. It won't fix a bad marriage but it will tear a bad one apart.
I may not be able to do it better but I can criticize you like nobody's business.
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Swinging is very real and has been around for many years. In the 60s and 70s it was referred to as "wife swapping", now it is just called swinging. Most people not in that lifestyle may actually know some swingers because swingers are usually very discreet and do not advertize it. My wife and I have been swinging for about the past 20 years and only our fellow swinger friends know about it. It is not for everyone. It will not make a bad marraige or relationship better but it will turn a good relationship into a great one.
shareIt's more popular than ever - and now with many variants, like 'dogging' in the UK.
And studies have shown that swinging marriages and relationships are more stable with less divorce.