Yeah, Baby!
book designer and editor Luke Turton www.luketurton.com paper Kanban 200gsm Smooth Card G.F Smith Mohawk Navajo Brilliant White Smooth 148gsm title typeface Octopuss Regular Designed by Colin Brignall title typeface Octopuss EF Regular Designed by Colin Brignall body typeface Gill Sans MT Pro Book, Italic, Medium Designed by Eric Gill
Yeah, Baby! A book about Swinging
Swinging  also known as wife swapping, is a non-monogamous behaviour, in which both singles and partners in a committed relationship engage in sexual activities with others as a recreational or social activity.
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“Allow myself to introduce... myself.”
“Mr. Powers, my job is to acclimatize you to the nineties. You know, a lot’s changed since 1967.” “No doubt, love, but as long as people are still having promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners without protection while at the same time experimenting with mind-expanding drugs in a consequence-free environment, I’ll be sound as a pound!” Austin Powers and Dr Evil, Austin Powers International Man of Mystery (1997)
Not being one of the individuals considered lucky to be born in the sixties, my first encounter of Swinging came from the film series, Austin Powers, the British spy who’s womanising and party hard attitude encapsulated sixties London with the ‘swinging sixties’ and ‘hippie’ attitude of free-love, although Austin Powers idea of Swinging was not the literal definition of Swinging that we see today in modern day understanding. I always recall being interested by his attitude towards sex and free love, alongside the characters comical side, and how Austin soon becomes lost when he is taken out of the sixties London, for those that have not seen the film, Austin is frozen in cryogenic sleep in 1967 and woke up in 1997 where the ‘Swinging Sixties’ were long gone and activities such as Swinging went from taboo before the sixties to something that grew following the sixties. The film made me ask the question, what is swinging, why do people do it? And What happened? Is Swinging still as acceptable as it was in the sixties or is it a taboo like it was traditionally? Swinging is considered in most religious and moralist communities as adultery and considered traditionally in Britain as a taboo.
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All the Swinging people —
Where did they all come from?
Austerity soon turned into prosperity
The fifties were a time of vast cultural increase and prosperity in Britain, but not all aspects of life had caught up with the modern era of change. Following the destruction of World War two in 1939, Britain was beginning to see the light on the road to recovery of it’s economy and it’s peace time way of life. Swinging was something unheard of and the old traditional opinions on types of relationships, sexuality and sex were strong. The British public were tired of the war time restrictions that were put in place during the war like rationing, which did not come to an end until the early 1950s, the public longed for peace time conditions and a return to the normal peaceful way of life in Britain. Britain enjoyed an economic boom during the mid1950’s, the modernisation of the economy and public projects created a growing job market and as a result, helped the economy recover.
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Both men and women of working age gained their own taste of independence in Britain’s newly emerging job market within the countries growing economy, both men and women were able to enjoy a new disposable income and the range of luxuries that it brought with it, everything from cars to furniture was available on credit and the nations new craze which soon spread up and down the country, television. Post-war Britain’s culture also prospered with a new lease of life, the country gained jazz, rock-n-roll, new movies and television, things that became known as the ‘mass culture’ and was slowly accepted by the British classes. Brits could now see how Americans were living in their economic boom following the great war and Britain enjoyed the new lease of life.
Attitudes towards sex and tradition in the fifties did not progress as much as you might think for an era of prosperity and change.
“ In the 50s, sex was completely taboo” Looking at Virginia Ironside’s view, a young teenager at the time, raised with the traditional values of ‘saying no to sex’, the risk of pregnancy due to a lack of contraceptives was too high for young women in the fifties, which ended in some rare cases with daughters being thrown out of their family home or forced to give up the baby for adoption and surprisingly in many cases illegal abortionists that “You couldn’t go to without paying a lot of money in used notes to a dodgy doctor off Harley Street”, fifties Britain was not a great place for young women taking their first steps into the British adult world. The traditional Christian values on sex and relationships were still strongly drilled into families and became the attitude of the nation. Virginia Ironside describes when reflecting on her life “In the fifties, sex was completely taboo” when working for a women’s magazine, she described the strong culture and attitude towards
sex in the fifties, “the journalists weren’t ever allowed to use the word ‘bottom’ – not even in ‘bottom of the garden’ or ‘bottom of the saucepan’. They couldn’t print the word ‘menstruation’ and if a reader wanted to know anything about sex she had to write in to the agony aunt who might suggest she wrote in again enclosing a stamped addressed plain brown envelope into which, but only if you were married of course, she would insert a leaflet explaining the Facts of Life”. Britain remained a place of strict attitudes towards sexual activity in the fifties, sex outside of marriage was traditionally thought of as a sin, swinging was pretty much unheard of and sex was not discussed in general conversation where as music and books and only very tamely touched on the topic of sex. Varied sexual preferences such as homosexuality was considered a sin and illegitimacy was frowned upon. Fifties Britain was a time that had little sexual liberation.
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Life in the 1960’s felt distant from the war
The prosperity of the fifties continued through to the sixties, life continued much like the past decade and the wind of cultural change was in the air from where it had started. Swinging was still something uncommon and viewed as unacceptable, even with the tide of change throughout the fifties, it was not until the rise of the sexual revolution in the sixties that swinging was brought into the public light in a new era of sexual liberation. The Sixties were a time of cultural change, in a world where there seemed to be chaos everywhere with the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nation remained calm. The good times continued as millions of young adults took advantage of the new disposable income that came from a wave of new jobs which they spent their money on buying records from new bands. Pop music was the number one priority for teenagers and rock groups such as the Beatles and The Rolling Stones changed the music scene in a way that can only be looked back upon with appreciation.
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Fashion also took a new turn, social groups such as the mods and rockers spread across swinging 60’s London wearing new fashionable clothes such as the miniskirt or racing jackets, riding the latest craze of scooters and motorbikes. Following it’s introduction television or TV became the nation’s favourite past time with the majority of Brits having television sets in their household. The television soon became a necessity not only for a source of entertainment but news and knowledge of what’s happening around the world. Consumerism gripped the nation, commercial television pushed sales and found use for the new wave of disposable income for the latest generations, the British economy and culture was booming, life in the 1960’s seemed distant from war time Britain.
The Sexual Revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behaviour related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships between the fifties to the eighties.
“Pregnancy was no longer a reason to say ‘no’ to sex” The Sexual Revolution increased the acceptance of sex outside of traditional relationships, which helped name the ‘Swinging Sixties’. This cultural shift spread across social boundaries and an ‘anything goes’ attitude was popularised. It was not the new culture alone that was sweeping Britain that caused the sexual revolution but a series of medical developments that occurred over the past few decades. The pill became available in the sixties which paved the way for the sexual revolution. Culture was amplified in the swinging sixties by new music that clashed with cultural groups creating mods, rockers and hippies. The use of new psychedelic drugs hit western culture by the mid 1950’s which influenced a new psychedelic culture which expanded into art and music. The new attitude, ‘sex sells’ became the norm in mass consumer culture and advertising with current advertisements and TV commercials. Books that were banned in the past such as Lady Chatterley’s Lover, which
was a late twenties graphic novel that described sex and topics that were considered unsuitable for general discussion was found not guilty at trial and once more allowed to be widely published, this opened the world of music and books to topics that were once considered unsuitable. The attitude that faced sex and relationships in the sixties changed colossally, for Virginia Ironside her description of the sexual revolution that took a new view, “Armed with the pill, and with every man knowing you were armed with the pill, pregnancy was no longer a reason to say ‘no’ to sex. And men exploited this mercilessly. Now for them, ‘no’ always meant ‘yes’” and it was this attitude and the consideration that “often it seemed easier and, believe it or not, more polite, to sleep with a man than to chuck him out of your flat.” This attitude defined the clear unprepared state of the ‘Swinging Sixties’ generation.
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Swinger’s Britain
“The British style of Swinging was neighbourhood based where married couples in small local communities would get together for regular Swingers parties�
Traditional family values like ‘sex should only take place in a monogamous relationship’ were beginning to slowly degrade through the explosive sexual revolution of the sixties.
“Spanking, voyeurism, three-in-a-bed romps and druggy sex” This paved the way for other types of relationships and sexual behaviour that were considered alien during the fifties, open marriages, swinging and communal sex, all by-products of the sexual revolution. By the seventies Swinging had spread across Britain, although the term wife swapping was more commonly used. This was probably caused by the British style of Swinging which was neighbourhood based where married couples in small local communities would get together for regular Swinger’s parties. Swinging and sex parties did not only affect the new generation of the Swinging sixties but the political elite also, the Porfumo Affair was one of the most infamous political affairs in Britain.
Jack Profumo was the Minister of War in Harold Macmillan’s Conservative government, he had a brief affair with a twenty seven year old, Christine Keeler. Keeler claimed to have been previously sleeping with Eugene Ivanov, a naval attaché at the Soviet Russian Embassy, alarm bells started ringing at the chance of a security risk, the worry for Britain’s security services was that Profumo may have leaked nuclear secrets during pillow talk with Keeler. The whole incident sparked the instant resignation of Profumo and a vast metropolitan police investigation into Stephen Ward, the fashionable yet sly osteopath who was Christine Keeler’s landlord who had given her telephone number to the Minister of War, Profumo.
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Stephen Ward was described as a sexual Swinger, reckless chatterbox and a show-off, the police pursued him under the Sexual Offences act.
“Eight high court judges had been involved in an orgy” The police prosecution had over a hundred witnesses being interviewed, Ward was subjected to a show trial full of bias and dubious evidence, slurs and salacious hypocrisy. It was hard to escape the conclusion that the evidence was fixed and the court processed was flawed. Hounded and humiliated by the judge during the trial, Ward killed himself. The Profumo Affair is still a very good example of how the British press can use sex and corruption to bring down the British political elite and wreck peoples reputations and lives, the Profumo investigation found that eight High Court judges had been involved in an orgy, which put the Prime Minister at the time, Harold Macmillan in terrible distress, “‘one’ he wailed, ‘perhaps two, conceivably but eight! I just can’t believe it’”.
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In Sixties Britain the tabloid newspapers used sex and scandal as a new method of implying corruption on an individual or place, the general attitude towards Swinging created by the newspapers was negative, but for the public the Profumo Affair was “a sensational crash course in national sex education. The case saw “spanking, voyeurism, thee-in-a-bed romps and druggie sex which were all spelled out - so much so that many mothers of teenagers cancelled the Sunday papers” the public enjoyed reading about the swinging scandals but the tone of voice and attitude used by the press was one of disgust and negativity, so much so that this reflected the general attitude of the British public that many were still strongly attached to traditional attitudes about having sex and relationships.
What is Swinging and Why Do People Do It?
The term swinging was said to have been first used by a minister, who told his congregation “there were weird people who were swinging back and forth, from and to bed ”. A lot of Swingers like to think of Swinging as fun for people who enjoy sex and meeting people as opposed to a steady monogamous relationship with one person. Swinging is claimed as a popular recreational activity for broad minded adults. To put it simply, swinging is about having sex with other people, it may take many forms; parties or orgies with partner swapping or group sex, gang bang couples meeting up and having sex with each other or even watching your partner get ‘bonked’ by lots of people, specialist Swingers such as finding Swingers with fetishes to play out fantasies. Swinging is also known as a lifestyle or a scene, swinging may take many variety of different forms and styles. The main question about Swinging is why do people do it? And why do they need it? Or can it be even put that simply? There is no simple answer and a heck of a lot of different reasons, many consider it an attempt to help redefine their love and strengthen marital bonds in which generally enriches the lives of couples. Others enjoy Swinging as a social past-time where they can talk to other couples whilst also enjoying swinging to the degree they find most suited to them.
The various reasons why people are attracted to swinging are varied, Swinging provides couples with a variety of sexual partners and different experiences in which couples can source pleasure and excitement that could bring a new lease of life to a relationship, and in other cases it could make a relationship deteriorate. Another big attraction of Swinging that appeals to couples is the social aspect, Swinging is considered a type of lifestyle not a single one-off sexual experience and socialising with other swinging couples. The possibility of couples recapturing their youthfulness is another popular aspect of swinging that appeals to many, being able to live out there days of sexual promiscuity. Swinging also proves to some as a reassurance that they are still attractive and desirable, Swinging has it’s own rules and culture much like how strict and structured sex and tradition was in the fifties. One of the main ideas why people need Swinging is that it is human nature, it is considered natural for an individual to feel attracted to another individual whether someone is in a relationship or not and swinging is a method to satisfy this natural urge.
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Exhibition Voy
Exhibitionism is the uniquely common form of pleasure which involves making love with a person while being watched by at least one other person but this is not limited to any amount.
ism eurism
Voyeurism is the form of pleasure which involves watching others perform sexual acts, the exact opposite to Exhibitionism. It is acceptable in group events but not in private areas and only if permitted to watch.
Soft-Swap
Soft-Swapping is the common form of pleasure that involves kissing and stroking and all the basics down south with a partner or multiple partners. This pleasure can be indulged during threesome, group romp or while swapping partners.
Peak-Swap
Peak-Swapping is the main form of pleasure that involves penetrative sex with someone other than one’s partner. The idea of Peak-Swapping is almost the definition of Swinging.
Mènage À
A Mènage À Trios or more commonly known as a threesome is the form of pleasure that involves three people. Threesomes are the most common way for people starting a swinging lifestyle. A lot of couples continue with threesomes long after they become an integral part of swinging.
Trios
Modern day swinging takes many different forms, Swinging is a widely established lifestyle with an estimated one million Swingers within the United Kingdom and over a hundred Swingers clubs established up and down the country. Since the founding of the Internet the amount of Swingers up and down the country has increased steadily with forums and groups in nearly every city and region across the country.
Attitudes towards swinging in today’s society are more relaxed, people understand and are aware that swinging is actually happening and some are not particularly bothered by this fact, others, such as the more religious and morally inclined tend to keep the traditional views that class Swinging as adultery. The general consensus of peoples attitudes towards swinging in the modern day are a more liberal compared to the past.
Taboo?
So what Happened?
Swinging thrived during in the 1960’s
As Austin Powers put it, the sixties were a totally different place, and a time when things were more acceptable and values were challenged. The attitude of sixties Britain was that of a new youth rebellion against the traditions established over the past decades, things were more acceptable in the sixties due to the different culture and attitude towards sex and relationships in general, Britain became a more liberal place following the sexual revolution of the sixties, new liberal laws on divorce, abortion and homosexuality were passed in the late 1960’s which helped promote a more open view on different types of sexuality, sex and relationships in general. Although the sexual revolution was very successful at gaining better views on sex and relationships, it also had it’s severe consequences, new sexually transmitted diseases such as AID’s spread openly due to very little awareness and now that the pill was on the scene, men had no thought to use a condom. Virginia Ironside later reflected on in her life that “us girls spent the entire sixties in tears, because however one tried to separate sex from love, we’d been brought up to associate the
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two; so overtime we went to bed with someone, we’d hope it would lead to something more permanent… and each time it never did” only now looking back on the sexual revolution, Virginia notes about “how damaging our sexual behaviour was both to our self-esteem and our souls”. Swinging was something that prospered in the sixties due to the fact that traditional values were no longer heavily established and a more general acceptance of different sexual practices, people begun to choose to explore their own sexuality and experiment with their relationships that created the swinging community that eventually grew over time. Swinging remained a private affair because of the fact that not all people held open views on sexual activities that breached the traditional monogamous ways of the past, there were still a lot of traditional views up and down the country that caused swinging to be frowned upon and even to this day, talk about swinging is something commonly heard.
“I’ve got you, Dr. Evil!” “Well done, Mr. Powers. We’re not so different, you and I. It’s true, you’re British, and I’m Belgian. You have a full head of hair, mine is slightly receding. You’re thin, I’m about forty pounds overweight. Ok, we are different, I’m not making a very good point. However, isn’t it ironic, Mr. Powers, that the very thing you stand for — swinging, free love, parties, distrust of authority - are all now in the nineties, considered to be… evil? Maybe we have more in common than you care to admit” “No, man, what we Swingers were rebelling against were uptight squares like you, whose bag was money and world domination. We were innocent, man. If we’d known the consequences of our sexual liberation, we would have done things differently, but the same spirit would have remained the same. It’s freedom, man.” “Your freedom has caused more pain and suffering in the world than any plan I ever dreamed of. Face it, freedom failed.” “That’s why right now is a very groovy time, man. We still have freedom, but we also have responsibility.” “Really, there’s nothing more pathetic than an ageing hipster.”
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Modern day Britain has still not come to terms with Swinging
“Swinging, free love, parties, distrust of authority are all now in the nineties, considered to be… evil?”
The swinging following the nineties became frowned upon due to the fact that the sexual liberation had a lot of consequences such as the newly discovered sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV and the devastation it left on women with the male free for all sex culture. The sixties sex culture was sex without responsibility or knowledge of the consequences which left a lasting mark on the nation, by the nineties people associated the swinging sixties with the devastation that the sexual liberation left behind which caused a lot of people to class swinging and various sexual exploration as something to be frowned upon and in some cases ‘evil’. In conclusion despite the various negative attitudes that became associated to swinging, it still managed to continue and thrive in Britain following the sixties, by
the turn of the century swinging became more popular and acceptable, new technology helped Swingers such as the internet, helping to find other couples to assisting them to continue following their lifestyle. Swinging bars and clubs opened up and down the country creating an increase in the numbers of people visiting them, young and old that increased steadily over the years. Swinging in the modern society is considered something to be frowned upon as it grew out of the phase of being a taboo following the sexual revolution of the sixties. To conclude, today’s modern Britain still has not come to terms with Swinging and is commonly seen as something to be frowned upon rather than a taboo when compared to the fifties, many Brits remain gagged when talking about swinging.
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