12B
Schoen the Hill
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2007
Some prefer 'swinging' on the SEX playground
Photo illustration by Anna Faltermeier
Photo Illustration by Anna Faltermiele
Some couples who want sexual freedom exchange sexual partners, a practice known as swinging. Swinging allows people the freedom to experiment and can lead to more open communication, but it can also cause jealousy. Partners who swimp must trust each other and mutually agree about the practice.
Web sites, stress-free sex prompt interest in swinging lifestyle
BY VANESSA
CUNNINGHAM
editor@kansan.com
What do tests, money, peer-pressure, and the future have in common? If you guessed stress, then you are correct. It's no shock that many college students choose to be single when the idea of a committed relationship can cause chaos and waste amounts of time and energy. It seems as if there is no balance for young adults who want to enjoy the benefits of a significant other, yet live in the fast lane like college students who have no strings attached. "Swinging" (not swing dancing) is not the first solution that comes to mind but there are people both young and old who prefer this type of casual commitment.
Mat Wygal, Hill City junior, openly describes his own swinging lifestyle and the benefits thereof.
"My girlfriend and I are priority to each other, but if we want to have a good time... we can. I don't plan on [swinging] forever. Neither of us are truly ready to settle down at this point in our lives."
When asked whether jealousy ever played a part in the relationship, Wygal had only one thing to say:
"We discuss e girlfriend knows that she comes first. Swinging is based on sex not emotions."
As unusual as swinging may seem, the practice in which a person or couple engages in the act of exchanging sexual partners.
Air Force pilots moved their wives closer to base and because of fatality rates inter-relations occurred and soon became the norm. The practice has often been a manner
"We discuss everything and my girlfriend knows that she comes first. Swinging is based on sex not emotions."
is more common than society would like to imagine. Adultfriendfinder, Swinglifestyle and Swingular are just a few of the Web sites where the interested can join communities that share the same feelings toward swinging. According to Holistic Wisdom, Inc., a Web site dedicated to sex education, swinging began in the 1950's and transformed from the term "wife-swapping" *Libchrist.* com also describes the manner in which swinging was started. U.S.
MAT WYGAL Hill City junior
in which couples can keep the fire alive in the bedroom, and possibly even bring the individuals in a couple closer.
E r i c k a Brune, a nursing student at Johnson County Community
College, is Wygal's girlfriend.
"Swinging is something that I discovered due to friends of mine. They were open with each other and seemed happy. I had been in a few controlling relationships and they were a motivating factor for me. In past relationships I had wanted to cheat, but swinging allows me to do what I want and be completely honest with my partner. We don't feel limited."
Brune mentions the negatives of
a swinging relationship as well.
"[Swinging] is not as easy as I thought it would be. I didn't know what I was getting into. Of course, everybody gets jealous but it's all about communication. Whether dating one person or three, it's good to be honest and communicate with each other. Right now I'm in no hurry to settle down but when I do, I think that a monogamous relationship will be beneficial for the children and the whole family."
Students such as Kamaria Cartledge, Wichita sophomore have different outlooks toward the swinging lifestyle.
"Swinging is immoral and sex should be sacred between couples. It basically signals that the relationship is neither strong nor valid."
Benefits of swinging may include freedom from a straining relationship. Swingers are more apt to express their deepest desires with a partner who is just as open as them. Communication tends to be better than in other relationships, and everyone seems to win. The downside of swinging can be
Edited by Chris Beattie
jealousy and a lack of willingness to pursue the practice. Couples must have a certain level of trust to even consider swinging. There is no guarantee that one partner won't have a change of heart somewhere down the road and want to put an end to the practice.
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