Taken from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061124/od_nm/singapore_sex_dc
(Friday, 24 Nov 06)
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Every two months, dozens of couples meet in a
pub in Singapore, have drinks, mingle, and then decide whether they
want to sleep with one another.
In Sydney or Seattle nobody would bat an eyelid, but the couples
are part of a thriving underground swinging scene that is an
anomaly for a country where oral sex is illegal and Playboy
magazine is banned.
There are at least 10 swingers clubs in Singapore, most of them
private, some of them online. With more than 6,000 members, the
Web-based United SG Swingers is one of the biggest.
"There are a lot more people that are open to the idea. It's so
widespread now," said a 42-year-old Singaporean company executive
who only wanted to be identified as Jack.
"Swinging is all about sex. It's satisfying the urge to have casual
sex and doing it with somebody you're comfortable with," said Jack,
who has been swinging for 10 years.
For all their enthusiasm, few swingers tell family and friends
about their lifestyle, although the practice is not illegal in
Singapore.
"In Singapore, most people will perceive us as perverts," said a
39-year-old publisher who has been swinging for five years. "Look
at our government policies, they say: 'Let's open up.' But our
policies have always remained very conservative."
Wealthy Singapore, which has consistently ranked near the bottom in
a global survey of sexually active nations, has been struggling to
shake off its reputation for prudishness.
Friday, it opened Sexpo 2006, the country's second sex exhibition,
featuring an array of toys and seminars.
SINGAPORE SWING
At United SG Swingers, people share erotic photographs, exchange
personal ads and correspond about the next gathering. It is a
close-knit community in which couples recommend good sex partners
and criticize those who aren't.
A police spokesman confirmed that swinging is not illegal as long
as it is done behind closed doors, is consensual and no money
changes hands.
This year, the organizers of United SG Swingers started
holding "on premise" parties, where couples can engage in group sex
in houses and hotel rooms across Singapore.
At these parties, the bedrooms have a strict clothes-off rule and
the "hard swingers" can engage in partner swapping. The "soft
swingers" are couples who stand around and watch, or have sex with
their own partners in full view of others.
Couples who swing say that seeing their own partners in action
keeps their passion burning.
"It's like looking at cake and wanting to eat it," said the main
organizer of United SG Swingers, 37-year-old IT specialist Josh, as
his 32-year-old wife nodded in agreement.
But some swingers disapprove of these parties, saying they can
degenerate into orgies.
"You can't establish pure friendships when there's a large group,"
said Ishak. "Genuine swingers would want to establish trust -- you
can't trust a person just by meeting them one time and then think
they can do it with your wife."
A 34-year-old Australian who attends swinging parties told Reuters
that Singapore's scene is just evolving.
"It's very innocuous here, it's not like other countries," he said.
"Compared to Australia and Europe, it's more discreet and less
lively. Singaporeans are pretty reserved in a lot of ways."
