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General Swinging Guide on history

Updated June 2026  ·  4 min read
General Swinging Guide on history
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It is widely believed that swinging started in the United States of America even though African tribes have been sharing wives for decades. It’s not always easy to trace back the history of swinging as there are a few facts and a lot of speculation. If we could time travel we could probably ask Adam if he and Eve ever considered swinging. Unfortunately we can’t do interviews with people from the past but we do have some ideas of how this popular lifestyle came to be.

There are a few different variations of the swinging history. Although you do get Global swingers from all over the world, it's more British people that get all the media interest and leads the way of the trends. That's why it's rather surprising that swinging started according to most people in the United States and not in the United Kingdom.

It's a shame that is wasn't British swingers who invented wife swapping but they sure learned fast how to enjoy this new found adult activity. What we do know is that the future of swapping is secure and that UK swingers especially are now at the front of the pack.

Information and stories of swinging origin

During the World War II United States Air Force pilots, and their wives, became the first swinging couples and formed the basis of swinging history as we know it today. If you close your eyes then it’s easy to imagine air force pilots in uniform with their wives close at base to keep them happy.

When co-pilots died in battle these Air Force pilots felt obliged to take care of their wives emotionally and sexually and the term "wife swapping" was coined. These new type of swinging couples where established when the deceased pilots wives put their room keys in a hat and the US Pilots then had to draw a key to randomly select who they would take care of that night.

Another variation of how swinging came about happened in the 1950's. It became fashionable to place a personal ad about your swinging desires in the Newspaper. In the same way that Global swingers today place personal ads on TheAdultHub. More publications started catering for adults offering them column space to advertise their needs.

Because most adults were married and they only exchanged partners with other married couples Global swingers were first called "wife swappers" and the activity referred to as "wife swapping." As more individual people joined the scene and less people formed traditional couples that resulted in matrimony, the term was soon dropped and "swinging" or "The Lifestyle" was used.

Now that you know about the origin you should become a member of our large swinging community and become part of swinger history.

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Frequently asked questions

Swinging is when couples or singles engage in consensual sexual activity with other people, usually at organised events or through connections made online. It's one of the most established forms of ethical non-monogamy in the UK.
TheAdultHub has 5.1 million verified members across the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. You can search by location, filter by member type, and browse profiles anonymously before making contact.
Yes, when practised with verified partners and proper precautions. TheAdultHub verifies all member profiles, and our Trust & Safety guide covers everything from first contact to attending an event.

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