Swinging, sometimes referred to in North America as the swinging lifestyle or simply The Lifestyle (although this simplified term is also used by people into Leather subculture|Leather and BDSM), includes a wide range of human sexual behavior|sexual activities conducted between three or more people.
Swinging activities can include Exhibitionism(having sex with a partner while being watched); Voyeurism(watching others have sex; Soft Swinging or Soft Swap (kissing, stroking, or having oral sex with a third or fourth person. This may be in the form of a threesome or group sex, or partners may literally be swapped);Full Swap(having penetrative sex with someone other than one's partner, which is the commonly understood definition of swinging (though not necessarily the most common type) and Group sex (An all inclusive term for activities involving multiple partners in the same vicinity)
Typically, swinging activities occur when a married or otherwise committed couple engages with either another couple, multiple couples, or a single individual. These acts can occur in the same room (often called same room swinging) though different or separate room swinging does occur. Sex on these occasions is often referred to as play.
The phenomenon (or at least its wider discussion and practice) may be seen as part of the Sexual Revolution of recent decades, which has occurred after the upsurge in sexual activity possible due to safer sex practices that became prevalent during these same decades.
While the vast majority of swingers are heterosexual couples, a major part of Lifestyle activities are bisexual in nature. A large portion of female swingers, while they may or may not identify as bisexual, are interested in female-female sexual contact. Male-male contact is more rare, but does occur.
Swinging is sometimes called wife swapping, but this term is now relatively archaic, due to the misogynistic implications inherent in this phrase. A more common term is simply The Lifestyle, as it is becoming increasingly referred to in contemporary culture. Though there are certain key differences in the implication of the two terms, "The Lifestyle" and "swinging" will be used interchangeably within the scope of this article.
In Austin Powers
Austin is a swinger. The movies also contains many swinger themes, such as when he goes back to the 1960's. He also revives the swinging lifestyle in the 2000s.