Editing Swinging (sexual practice) (section)

==In North American society==
According to [[Terry Gould]]'s ''The Lifestyle: A look at the erotic rites of swingers'',<ref>Terry Gould, ''The Lifestyle: a look at the erotic rites of swingers''. Vintage Canada, November 23, 1999 {{ISBN|1-55209-482-0}}</ref> swinging began among American [[United States Army Air Forces|Air Force]] pilots and their wives during [[World War II]] before pilots left for overseas duty. The mortality rate of pilots was so high, as Gould reports, that a close bond arose between pilot families that implied that pilot husbands would care for all the wives as their own&nbsp;– emotionally and sexually&nbsp;– if the husbands were lost.<ref>[http://www.homerf.org History of Wife Swapping], homerf.org</ref> The realities of the demographics and basing of US Army Air Force (USAAF) pilots and crew suggest that this arrangement did not evolve during WWII, instead evolving later.<ref>{{cite web |title='Bloody Hundredth' B-17 Pilot Shares WWII Experiences |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/3022302/bloody-hundredth-b-17-pilot-shares-wwii-experiences/ |website=U.S. Department of Defense |access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref> US military personnel in WWII were not accompanied by their families (and many, especially in the USAAF, were single) – the giant military bases where families live while accompanying a deployed soldier, sailor, aviator, or Marine are mostly [[Cold War]] creations.<ref>{{cite web |title=- ISSUES AFFECTING FAMILIES OF SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN, AND MARINES |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-108shrg96602/html/CHRG-108shrg96602.htm |website=www.govinfo.gov |access-date=10 October 2022}}</ref> By the time the [[Korean War]] ended, swinging had spread from the military to the [[suburb]]s. This phenomenon was usually referred to as wife-swapping.<ref>[http://www.libchrist.com/swing/began.html The History and Definitions of Swinging which is Couples Only], Liberated Christians, Inc.</ref>

Later in the 1960s at the height of the ''[[Free love|Free Love]]'' movement, the activities associated with swinging became more widespread in a variety of social classes and age levels.<ref name="Stonesex">{{harvnb|Stone|1994|loc=[http://www.hipplanet.com/books/atoz/sex.htm "Sex, Love and Hippies"]}}.</ref> In the 1970s, sometimes referred to as "The Swinging '70s",<ref>{{cite web |last=Goldstein |first=Gary |title=The swinging '70s: retreating to Plato's |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-mar-29-ca-swing29-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=17 October 2022 |date=29 March 2009}}</ref> swinging activities became more prevalent, but were still considered "alternative" or "fringe" because of their association with non-mainstream groups such as [[Intentional community|communes]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Sheff |first=Elisabeth |title=Gender, Family, and Sexuality: Exploring Polyamorous Community |year=2005 |publisher=University of Colorado |pages=648}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2019}}

In 2002, swingers' rights were added to the mission of the [American] [[National Coalition for Sexual Freedom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncsfreedom.org/who-we-are/about-ncsf/ncsf-mission-statement|title=NCSFreedom - NCSF Mission Statement|first=Deb|last=Cinkus|date=23 July 2021|access-date=29 April 2020|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222084129/http://www.ncsfreedom.org/who-we-are/about-ncsf/ncsf-mission-statement|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ncsfreedom.org/who-we-are/the-history-of-the-ncsf/|title = History of NCSF| date=6 August 2019 }}</ref>

A common myth claims that a "key party" is a form of swinger party, in which male partners place their car or house keys into a common bowl or bag on arriving, and at the end of the evening the female partners randomly select a set of keys from the bowl and are obligated to leave and have sex with its owner.<ref>{{cite book| last = Bell | first = Robert | title = Social Deviance: A Substantive Analysis | publisher = Dorsey Press | year = 1971 | location = University of Michigan | isbn = 978-0-256-01663-5 | page = 74 }}</ref> However, numerous researchers have tried unsuccessfully to confirm a first-hand account of such a party, suggesting that they are nothing more than an [[Urban legends and myths|urban legend]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kukura |first=Joe |date=2018-03-15 |title=Did Key Parties Ever Really Happen? |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/did-key-parties-ever-really-happen/article_7cdda389-9c58-59d7-b46b-92f5cc51da93.html |access-date=2023-09-06 |website=SFWeekly |language=en}}</ref>

According to economic studies on swinging,<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = D'Orlando | first1 = Fabio | year = 2010 | title = Swinger Economics | journal = The Journal of Socio-Economics | volume = 39 | issue = 2| pages = 303–304 | doi=10.1016/j.socec.2009.12.008}}</ref> the information and communications technology revolution, together with improvements in medicine, has been effective in reducing some of the costs of swinging and hence in increasing the number of swingers.