Switching partners wasn't always as open as it is today.
The act of swinging dates back to World War II between U.S. air force pilots and their respective wives, according to Terry Gould's book The Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers.
However, according to Wikipedia, swinging began among American military communities in the 1950s. "By the time the Korean War ended, swinging had spread from the military to the suburbs. The media dubbed the phenomenon wife-swapping."
Swingers website the4playclub.com claims there were "key clubs" around that time where husbands reportedly tossed their house keys into a pile in the centre of the room where they were drawn at random by the wives. The keys a wife selected would be the person she'd go home with.
The lifestyle quietly made its way into the homes of San Francisco, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York City where swinger members gathered in the privacy of house parties.
It was reported that the first swingers' organization was the Sexual Freedom League, launched in the 1960s in California by a student named Robert McGinley, who later formed the North American Swing Club Association (now NASCA International).
Today, it's estimated that between 600,000 and 1.5 million Canadians are swingers. University of Toronto celibacy researcher Elizabeth Abbott said the Internet also plays a big role in the lifestyle, as it allows people to get information on etiquette and reach out to other members.
Many swingers have even created online organizations, some sporting hundreds of thousands of members.
