For centuries, many cultures have engaged in the art of sharing their partners with others, you only have to look to the days of Roman Orgies or the practices of the Alaskan Inuit tribe. The start of what is known as modern day swinging has however, only been around since the 1950’s. In the 1950’s swinging started to gain media attention through the wife-swapping parties held by members of the military, rather than swingers clubs, the initial modern day swingers held key parties, which involved husbands placing their keys into a pile and their wives randomly picking a key. Whoever the owner of the key was, ended up being the sexual partner of the wife for the evening.

Since the Key Club days, swinging has evolved from informal gatherings,, through to the establishment of dedicated swingers clubs in the 1960’s. The Sexual Freedom League of Berkeley, California, even started a lobby group to advance the acceptance of swinging within the community. During the 1970’s, California dominated the swinging scene with the establishment of on premise swinging clubs, where swinging activity freely took place behind open doors. With the advent of swinging magazines and newspapers, swinging was able to gain popularity with couples who wanted to retain discretion and not be  seen at on premise swingers clubs.