Swinger Stats

[JustAskJulie]

I was just looking through the "Swinger Survey" here on the Swingers Board and noticed a few things I thought I'd share, some I would have expected others not quite so.

Those visiting the site are split pretty evenly between single guys and couples (with only a few females).

65% of those responding are married.

Over half of those who responded are between the ages of 31 and 50.

66% of those who responded have never been to a swingers club.

29% of those who resonded stated that NEITHER of them were bisexual (hmm.. lots of straight couples out there).
17% said that she is bi.
23% said that she is bi-curious.

54% of those responding state that they ALWAYS practice safe sex.

66% of those responding state that they consider safe sex to be "Condoms for vaginal penetration ONLY" (not oral sex).

Any thoughts on these numbers? I think the ones that stood out the most for me was the high % of straight couples. And that most people do consider safe sex to be "condoms for vaginal sex only".

[danc694u]

What that tells us.

2/3 of the people on the net are not seeking a "swinging" lifestyle really. Face it, they've never been to a club. Yes we do know people who NEVER go to a club. But, they have at one time in the past, at least been to one.

The 29% straight couples. We have no trouble believing that one. We actually think the figure is much higher. Do the math, 65% responding were married couples. So it figures that the 29% would represent a sizable amount of those. AND since most men will check the "bi-curious" box in a survey, for their wives. You have to figure in some room for error, or flat out lies as it may be..

Most of us who have spent anytime looking on the net. Have run into the surprized wife who didn't even know what was going on.

[jimcat]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by JustAskJulie:
[QB]I "Swinger Survey" here on the Swingers Board and noticed a few things I thought I'd share, some I would have expected others not quite so.

66% of those who responded have never been to a swingers club.

66% of those responding state that they consider safe sex to be "Condoms for vaginal penetration ONLY" (not oral sex).

Julie
Wanted to comment on the survey results that you posted. I believe the 2/3 who have never been to a swingers club are also representative of the percentage on the swingers chat. Although I have no problem with non swingers it would be nice if they didn't represent themselves as swingers when chatting.This is one thing I really find annoying. This is one reason I also find clubs refreshing- it is relatively easy to qualify a couple with a few upfront questions.I was also interested in the condom question. What is the risk levels associated with vaginal and oral sex without a condom?

[NealnAnji]

Julie, do you have any statistics from the survey or otherwise regarding what % swinger couples want:

1. Sex only, friendship is secondary, only if it happens.
2. Sex only, do not need friendship.
3. Friendship before swinging and swapping for penile/vaginal intercourse.
4. Age group is important/not important.

[LIZA]

I just took the survey which I never had before and also found that 19% of couples say either BOTH are bi-urious or HE is bi-curious. I thought that was interesting too

[Alura]

We just took the survey and have to conclude that we are not swingers. In several of the questions we were not able to pick a category because it didn't apply to us.

1. She is in the 41-50 age group and he is in the 51-65 age group. Which to choose???

2. Do we practice safe sex? Well, we think so. We do so by choosing our partners very carefully. If we think condoms may be advisable we simply say, "No, thanks!" We never have felt condoms were needed because our partners have always been people who are at virtually no risk for STD's. By the time we were intimate, we knew them very well.

3. What do we consider safe sex? None of the above, thank you. We don't trust condoms.

4. We've never played with anyone we met on the Internet. Of the five couples we've played with over the past twenty years, only one was met with the idea of swinging. They fit the mold of the others.

5. Clubs? We went to one that was started by a Tulsa couple with the idea that they could get rich doing it. It cost $50.00 to attend a meeting. The club met in hotel conference rooms. There was a cash bar and a compact stereo system playing music. We met an interesting couple and called them several times for a "date" but they were always busy. We think they were lukewarm because we would not commit to sex right away. We wanted to get to know them. We quit calling, and never returned to the club. This probably has more to do with our having met a compatible couple outside the swinging community than anything else. The club folded soon after.

6. Bi-curious? He isn't. Well, she did have some experiences with a very special lady, which she enjoyed a lot, but hasn't felt compelled to go searching for a replacement now that she is no longer a part of our life.

So, we've concluded we're not swingers. We can live with that. Fortunately, whatever we are doing is a helluva lot of fun!

Cheers and Smiles,
Alura

[JustAskJulie]

Originally posted by neal7310:
Julie, do you have any statistics from the survey or otherwise regarding what % swinger couples want:

1. Sex only, friendship is secondary, only if it happens.
2. Sex only, do not need friendship.
3. Friendship before swinging and swapping for penile/vaginal intercourse.
4. Age group is important/not important.

No, there aren't any questions in the survey concerning that. You can view the survy by clicking the survey link from the main index of this site.

The original intent of the survey was just to get some basic stats on those who visit the site, it has grown a bit since its initial inception, and based on the comments I see here it will probably be changing/expanding again soon.

When coming up with the questions/ responses, I tried to think of all the possible answers I could think off (and include a none of the above/no answer option) - if you view the stats you can see the # for those who didn't respond to a particular question.

Alura, I think of it in terms of the way some friends of mine put it. They do play with others but they don't consider themselves swingers. They "don't want to put labels" on what they do. Works for me.

[Alura]

It works for us, too, Julie! We've always called our adventures, "Playing." That's what we do. We don't care what anybody else calls what they do, just don't say we're not "real" because we choose to do something different.

I'll say it again: You are one cool lady!

Cheers,
Husband of Alura

[CindyB]

So I have a question. Just because my husband and I only share sex with one other man, does that make us not swingers? We have never been to a club nor are we looking to expand our circle. I don't know what we would be classified as. But whatever it is, I'm loving it.

[danc694u]

Originally posted by CindyB:
Just because my husband and I only share sex with one other man, does that make us not swingers? We have never been to a club nor are we looking to expand our circle

Your's would be classified more of a POLY relationship, than swinging. While they are close in appearances they are very differant.

[JustAskJulie]

I think everyone puts way too much weight on terminology.

I've said it a 100 times if I've said it once. There are as many types of swinging as there are swingers. I think that whether or not you are a swinger is a distinction that only you can make. If you don't want to use that word, use your own.. just enjoy what you do

[danc694u]

Originally posted by JustAskJulie:
I think everyone puts way too much weight on terminology.

That's very true. But, what they decribed is refered to is a poly-fidelity relationship.
They have decided to allow an additional person (and only one) in their personal life. They are not actively seeking additional people. Nor do they want any.

Poly lifestyles have been around much longer than swinging lifestyles. And, this (poly) was my (David) first look into multiple partner relationships.

There is a defined line between swinging & poly. That line being, the allowing of other/unknown people to engage in sex acts with you and your partner. Of course poly has expanded it's terminology to include these types also, over the last few years. So the line gets further blurred.

Poly leans more to the emotional/loving attachment of the people involved, before sex.

But, as you stated Julie. It's been called so many things, I agree with your statement of "call it what you want".

[Alura]

Okay, Julie, we're not swingers. We're playmates. Do we have to stop visiting the Swingers Board? If so, can you direct us to the Playmates Board?

Cheers and Smiles,
Alura

[JustAskJulie]

LMAO. Whatever you want to call it you are welcome here. I've always tried to keep the site pretty general and open to anyone whatever their interest in playing may be. Hell, I even have single seeking single sections in the personal ads - something you won't find on most swinger sites.

[HoustonCpl]

I know I'm making the mistake of switching topics, but...

Alura, I found your comments about safe sex interesting. Don't you believe that there is the risk that a really nice and honest couple may not know that they are infected with Herpes or HIV? I believe I've read multiple sources that say people can go months, if not years, before they find out that they've had an STD for a long time. Most people do not get checked for STD's more than once per yer, if at all. What happens if you hook up with a couple that caught something at a party the previous month? The only way they would know would be if they were getting tested after every encounter. Even then it may take weeks for lab tests to come back.

No one likes condoms. They may not be 100% effective. We all know we take some amount of risk in the lifestyle, but I'm not sure that blind faith is better than latex.

Please don't take this as criticism, but as hopefully thought provoking questions.