Swinging in Colombia according to academic research: fidelity, rules and the 2004 legal debate

Talking about the swinger lifestyle in Colombia is usually done with rumours or headlines. There is, however, more solid material: academic research. This guide summarises a 2011 article in the journal Textos y Sentidos of the Universidad Católica de Pereira, by Carlos Andrés Hurtado and Paula Andrea Serna, and what it says about the legal debate Colombia went through in 2004. It is a small qualitative study, with four couples, so it cannot be generalised; its value lies in carefully recording how part of the community describes itself.

What the study is and how it was done

The article, titled "Swinger's life style and the notion of fidelity: a subjective fight between freedom and sexual exclusivity", asks what people who practise this lifestyle understand by fidelity. The authors combine a review of sources with a structured, open-ended interview with four couples who identify as swingers, with names changed. It stems from a specialisation in pedagogy and human development at the university itself, and was received in October and accepted in December 2011.

The 2004 legal debate

The text recalls that in 2004 the Senate's First Committee opened a debate on a bill to ban establishments dedicated to promoting and profiting from couple swapping, the so-called "swinger bars". According to the authors, the initiative added to the Police Code an article against conduct harming public morality. It was shelved at first debate: among the arguments against it was one from senator and former Constitutional Court judge Carlos Gaviria Díaz, who held that constitutional pluralism means each person organises their life according to their beliefs and a single morality cannot be imposed. This is a 2004 historical fact, not a guide to current law: to know what is allowed today, consult current legislation or a lawyer.

What the interviewed couples say

The article gathers ideas that anyone who has read about the subject will recognise. The practice is defined as an agreement between the couple to have relations with other people, with active or passive consent from both; the swap is neither imposed nor decided by chance, it is negotiated. Rules vary from couple to couple, but recurring ones include care for hygiene and sexual health, not giving names or addresses without prior agreement and deciding which gestures stay reserved for the couple, such as affectionate words or private conversations. The authors stress discretion: couples fear their practice becoming known because of the effect it could have on their family, neighbourhood or work.

How people enter the scene

Citing earlier literature, the article describes two common routes: personal referral, meaning knowing a couple who already belongs to the group, and going to a swinger club or bar, where you are less likely to meet someone you know, which gives a sense of reserve. Each offers a different kind of security to a couple starting out, one through company and the other through anonymity. It also reproduces Gómez's (2010) classification of four types of participant, from occasional and curious ones to those who live it as a lifestyle.

What we can learn as readers

First, that consent and an explicit agreement within the couple are the core of the practice according to the couples themselves. Second, that privacy is a real and legitimate concern: read our safety and privacy guides. Third, that the study is old and small; do not use it to claim figures or to describe a city's scene today. If you want to go deeper, find the full article in the journal and the works it cites on Cali, which it describes as part of a research line at the Universidad de San Buenaventura.