Fox on Sex: 'Big Love:' The Different Kinds of Polyamory
By Belisa Vranich
Swinging saves you from cheating – there’s no lies and deception. It’s letting people have the variety they crave, but their partners get to have power and choice in the matter.”
— Danielle, 31*
“If done right, it can keep relationships together, rather than add to the statistics of divorce or miserable deceptive marriages.”
— Jonathan, 46*
With so much talk about cheating, sex addiction and horny housewife shows, I've been getting a lot of mail asking questions that span from inane to fantastic.
How does polyamory (having multiple intimate relationships simultaneously, with full consent) differ from swinging? Are swingers nudists? (Not necessarily, though I am sure some nudists might swing). Are bondage and S&M essential parts of swinging? (Nope, not essential). And then there are the numerous e-mails I get that about “cuckolding” (men who like watching their wives having sex, which might have an undercurrent of psychological humiliation to it).
“While the word ‘swinging’ may conjure images of hairy hippies for you, there is no profile of an ‘average’ swinging couple,” said Lola, president of HedoOnline.com, who is also a writer for "Penthouse" and an alternative lifestyle educator. “Fortune 500 owners, CEOs, people in law enforcement -- they don’t fit any mold at all except that everyone is very polite and open-minded.”