a form of ethical non-monogamy centered on shared sexual experience, often between committed couples and often in social settings. frequently called "the lifestyle." the outside connections are usually more erotic and recreational than romantic, and the original couple often stays the primary bond. it overlaps polyamory in its honesty and consent, and differs mainly in emphasis: play and sexual connection rather than building several full relationships.
Swinging has its own long-running culture, with clubs, events, and social norms that predate much of the modern polyamory vocabulary. For many people in it, the appeal is shared adventure: exploring sex together, as a couple or as singles, with everyone's knowledge and agreement. The emphasis tends to sit on the erotic and the recreational rather than on forming additional romantic partnerships.
That emphasis is the main thing that distinguishes it from polyamory, not a hard wall. Some swingers develop lasting friendships or feelings with the people they play with; some polyamorous people enjoy the social, play-forward side of swinging. The useful distinction is not "sex versus love," which is too tidy, but where the center of gravity sits: swinging usually keeps the original couple as the anchor and treats outside connection as shared play, while polyamory makes room for more than one relationship to matter on its own terms. See ethical non-monogamy for the umbrella both sit under, and the lifestyle for the insider name.
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definition contributed by Tessakin