Swinging And Alternative Lifestyles In The Media

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20 February 2018
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Derby
I was flicking through my Freeview channels the other evening and nothing caught my eye. I decided to switch on the NowTV box and see what I could find on catch-up. I searched on All4 for Naked Attraction (one of my 'guilty pleasures') and found 24 episodes! (some of which I'd already seen). However, this wasn't the first thing I watched... I noticed under 'More Like This' a number of programmes / shorts about swinging / alternative lifestyles. Needless to say I watched them all!!

What I watched:

Young Swingers
Six shorts about 5 minutes long. Various types of young swingers (masked) in their 20s and 30 give honest interviews about their swinging lives, before and after a night out. Interesting perspectives. Very London-centric.


Sex Party Secrets (47 mins)
Documentary on the background and build-up to a few big sex parties in London, Dorset and Ibiza. Again several interviews with swingers but a more varied age group. Seems to omit/conceal the fact that single men can go swinging (probably because they're not allowed at these parties). Very much focussing on the posh, elitist and expensive end of swinging. The venues did look impressive to be fair. Again, interesting discussion on jealousy, open relationships etc. Interesting viewing.

Threesome Dating (Shorts)
Comparatively vanilla after watching Sex Party Secrets, but still fun. Kind of like a short, casual version of First Dates for various combinations of threesomes. The MF-F ones got on well, the single ladies were younger. There was a FF-M group and the young guy couldn't get over his luck meeting a couple of two older ladies. An FM-M (female and gay friend meeting bi-guy) was a bit more cagey. An all-male meeting got a bit emotional and didn't go anywhere. No all-female threesome.

How to Pull
Five desperate shorts on pulling in the vanilla world. Laughable in a cringey way.

Oh Shit! I'm 30 (Six shorts)
A attractive young woman turns 30, goes into 'quarter-life crisis' (!) mode. Episodes on having children, aging, work and more.
Not strictly about swinging but there is an episode where she attends Skirt Club to explore her bi-curiousness. She feels uncomfortable going past kissing with the ladies.

Of course, I followed this with four episodes of Naked Attraction! You never can tell with this show, who is going to be chosen and why. Also, it's difficult to predict how they will get on during the date (some actually formed a relationship). Always a good laugh (and can be informative too!)

So all you naughty people... has anyone else seen the above shows? Any thoughts? Any other interesting 'lifestyle' related shows on the box?!

On a more serious note, what do people think of swinging's portrayal in the media? The vibe I got was that it is slowly emerging into the mainstream from the underground, although still misunderstood in mainstream British society.

Whether this is good or bad is hard to say. I guess more awareness leads to greater acceptance. (There is a part of me that enjoys the slightly rebellious element of doing something beyond the mainstream!) Anyway, enough from me...let's read from the rest of you :):sneaky:(y)
 
10 July 2018
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3,808
So all you naughty people... has anyone else seen the above shows? Any thoughts? Any other interesting 'lifestyle' related shows on the box?!

Nope, haven’t seen any of them, or not that I remember, other than Naked Attraction which I caught a few minutes of and decided ‘no, definitely not for me’.

On a more serious note, what do people think of swinging's portrayal in the media? The vibe I got was that it is slowly emerging into the mainstream from the underground, although still misunderstood in mainstream British society.

I think the emphasis is on slowly. I don’t think 1 in a 1000 - if that - people understand what it is, or how it’s changed from the stereotypical ‘keys in the bowl’ sex comedy movies from the 1970s.

And, though I may be completely wrong on this, I suspect that were I to tell my friends or family that I was involved in the scene, or at least that I was at one time active in it to be fair, the reactions would range from outright horror and disgust to genuine anger and upset.

That could, of course, merely suggest I need different friends and family.

(I’ve mentioned on several occasions that I have close friends - the ones I refer to as ‘unfairly sexy’ - who know of the scene and have no problems with it on a moral basis, but have no more interest in it than I do in joining the priesthood.)
 
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Therapon

Admin
11 August 2015
24,400
47,314
On a more serious note, what do people think of swinging's portrayal in the media?

Sensationalism. I haven't watched any of these except for the odd part of Naked Attraction as they don't interest me. Why? Because most of these programmes focus on either the elitist element or the sordid side of swinging. Lets face it to film and air a programme you need money, to recoup that money you need an audience, to get those viewers to watch then there needs to be something that attracts them, sex sells, the truth, well who cares.
 
20 February 2018
478
1,502
40
City
Derby
Nope, haven’t seen any of them, or not that I remember, other than Naked Attraction which I caught a few minutes of and decided ‘no, definitely not for me’.



I think the emphasis is on slowly. I don’t think 1 in a 1000 - if that - people understand what it is, or how it’s changed from the stereotypical ‘keys in the party’ sex comedy movies from the 1970s.

And, though I may be completely wrong on this, I suspect that were I to tell my friends or family that I was involved in the scene, or at least that I was at one time active in it to be fair, the reactions would range from outright horror and disgust to genuine anger and upset.

That could, of course, merely suggest I need different friends and family.

(I’ve mentioned on several occasions that I have close friends - the ones I refer to as ‘unfairly sexy’ - who know of the scene and have no problems with it on a moral basis, but have no more interest in it than I do in joining the priesthood.)
Good to get your perspective Fincon. I agree that it is still effectively an 'underground' activity. I think the media at times portrays it to be something more mainstream than it is. So more people are becoming aware it is a thing (although they may still be misinformed) but very few have tried it for real.
 
20 February 2018
478
1,502
40
City
Derby
Sensationalism. I haven't watched any of these except for the odd part of Naked Attraction as they don't interest me. Why? Because most of these programmes focus on either the elitist element or the sordid side of swinging. Lets face it to film and air a programme you need money, to recoup that money you need an audience, to get those viewers to watch then there needs to be something that attracts them, sex sells, the truth, well who cares.
I agree @Therapon that sex sells. Strangely enough there was very little actual sex shown in any of the above. I do find that the media get very sensationalist on swingers clubs.
 
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@Leonidas480
I did the same thing and ended up watching some of these too. The really short episodes/clips confused me as I thought they were 5 minute previews for a longer series, which would have been great, so was a bit miffed about that because I ended up searching everything and ended up down a smart-tv hole. Still interesting though. Enjoyed the threesome-dating ones,
x
 
10 July 2018
1,289
3,808
I agree that it is still effectively an 'underground' activity. I think the media at times portrays it to be something more mainstream than it is. So more people are becoming aware it is a thing (although they may still be misinformed) but very few have tried it for real.
I think that’s fair, and about right.

There’s also - as has been discussed here in other threads - the mistake the public make so often between ‘swinging’ and ‘an open marriage’. The two are different.
 

Therapon

Admin
11 August 2015
24,400
47,314
I agree @Therapon that sex sells. Strangely enough there was very little actual sex shown in any of the above. I do find that the media get very sensationalist on swingers clubs.

Yes, but you only need to read the programme titles, they would appear to be about sex so people will watch them then probaly whinge later that there were no boobs on show. A lot would also probably say that they would never do anything like that. Sorry I'm in cynical mode but it's very rarely that you get a balanced programme as that would be boring. Get ya bits out.