Speaking with Swingers in Spain and France: Strategies from the Swinger World

Abstract

This paper explores the ways in which swingers negotiate their world in swinger settings in Spain and France. This includes previously ignored subgroups in swinger subculture, such as single swingers, intergenerational and intercultural couples as well as cuckold couples. Demographics differ slightly from previous studies, including 7 nationalities, suggesting a higher level of multiculturalism among swingers in cosmopolitan and touristic areas, such as the south of Spain and south of France. Drawing on ethnographic data collected in Andalusia, Spain, and Cap d´Agde, France, as well as qualitative interviews with 40 participants, we demonstrate the ways in which swingers negotiate their world. Strategies by swingers were used to avoid misunderstandings, create boundaries, claim agency, transgress, and deal with stigma.