Etiquette

• Meeting Couples
• Bad Situations
• Be open
• Including singles
• MYOB

• Rules of conduct
• Who You'll Meet
• Your first

Meeting Couples

There are many avenues for you to meet like-minded couples. Classified ads, online chat rooms, online bulletin boards, lifestyle magazines available at your local adult store, strip clubs that cater to lifestyles or host "Couples Nights", lifestyle clubs, and others. There is no single possibility that you have to do. Pick one or more that you feel comfortable with and take it slow. And, you will probably have found the first thing you have in common with another couple! If you hate strip clubs and like online chat rooms, in a chat room you will most likely find couples who also do not like strip clubs.

If you are communicating with a couple either online or through a classified, it would be wise to take a few safety precautions:

Get a P.O. Box to receive mail rather than giving out your home address.

Keep first meetings short and in a public place. It can be real uncomfortable to plan a whole evening with a couple only to find that you do not get along.

Keep meetings on a "no strings attached" basis.

Talk on the phone first. Talk to both partners to ensure they are a couple and both seem to be interested in the lifestyle. You can learn a lot about a couple over the phone.

Create a separate online mailbox to receive and send email to new couples to ensure your privacy.

Bad Situations

Regardless of how long you have been in the lifestyle, bad situations do happen. And they happen to everyone. It won't take long before you talk to someone who had an experience where one person started crying, or a person was being too rough and demanding.

There is no test to give people beforehand, and even experienced people sometimes feel jealous or lose their mood. The best thing to do is "Stop!". It might not be easy at the time. In fact, it will probably be one of the hardest things you ever find yourself doing. But the next day, you will be happy that you took control of the situation and did what was right for you. It certainly will not be easy if you see your spouse having a great time while you are figuring out your grocery list in your head. You might even feel compelled to keep going, as you wouldn't want to spoil everyone else's fun.

But you need to be in control of you and not worry about anyone else. If you chose a true lifestyle couple, they will be understanding and supportive. Plus, your primary concern should be your partner, not the other couple's feelings. If they don't understand that, too bad. Then you will know that either they aren't in the lifestyle for the right reasons or that they just aren't the right couple for you.

It's important to discuss this eventuality with your spouse before it even happens. Some couples have come to the agreement that if they find themselves in that situation, they will quietly excuse themselves and feel comfortable with their partner continuing. In reality, this type of agreement will probably change from one situation to another. If it is the other woman making your wife uncomfortable, then it's doubtful she would appreciate you continuing. Remember, this is about your relationship and your partner. If they feel uncomfortable with ANY situation, you need to be supportive and available to them.

Be open

An amazing amount of couples find it difficult to talk directly and honestly. When getting together with a new partner, it's almost impossible to have a good experience without clear communication. It's not insulting and very necessary. We can't stress enough how important communication is. No one can know instinctively what his/her partner will enjoy or not enjoy. None of us are mind readers and, when not pointed in the right direction, end up stumbling around in the dark. You don't have to have a long & drawn out discussion, but you should at least lay some ground rules.

Communication also helps everyone be at ease. There is nothing worse than 4 people sitting around a room waiting for someone to bring up the inevitable. But once, it is brought up, everyone feels relieved.

Never take anything for granted. Make sure you are all on the same page ahead of time. What is appropriate, enjoyable and OK may vary from occasion to occasion, even with the same couple. Just don't assume.

Including singles

Depending on the club or group you are socializing with, the attitudes towards including single men and women into the fun can be quite diverse.

Many people feel that singles, especially single men, have no place in the lifestyle. Others feel that by including singles, it expands the boundaries.

Talk with your spouse about how you feel about including singles into your circle of friends.

Many couples do not like to include singles because of the lack of a long term relationship and feel that a single person could pose a threat to their relationship.

Others feel that including a single is just adding a new dimension since the single person is just being used as a "toy".

Also many people have commented on how singles perceive themselves when invited by a couple. Many single men feel that they are providing something to a relationship that to them is lacking. They sometimes consider themselves to be a third part of the relationship.

MYOB

As a group, you will find people in the lifestyle to be very open and honest about their experiences. Most will even share from their personal experiences to help and show you support.

With that said, do not ask for specifics. The names of other couples they have been with is personal and should be confidential. You might be thinking, "But what about my safety. I want to know if a couple was with someone I think might not be whom we may want to party with."

"But what if they are with a couple we had a bad experience with. We should let them know what jerks they are, right?"

Listen, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and many couples get themselves in a deep hole by putting themselves in the middle of two other couples. Remember what is important, you and your spouse. Nobody else.

We are not saying that you shouldn't tell someone about a couple that put you in danger. But there is a fine line between helping and hurting a situation. If you choose to become involved, you must be prepared for any result.

The same is true in reverse. It is never a good idea to talk with other couples about who you have been with. Generalities are fine, and can be quite enlightening in a conversation.

You'll find that if you do not talk about other couples and refuse to listen to dirt about other couples, you can keep conversations and friendships fun and you can be fun to be around.

Rules of conduct

Every club and most individuals have a standard of conduct. The one universal rule is

NO MEANS NO

Here is a basic list of rules, although it should not be considered complete, but a starter.

Who You'll Meet

"Who goes to lifestyle clubs, and what kind of people will we meet?" The answer is as diverse as our society. You will meet, doctors, lawyers, mechanics, housewives, butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.

With a community that diverse, you will most probably find people like yourself.

What's important is finding people with similar attitudes. At first, you will most definitely find people more "advanced" than you. By that, we mean people that have been in the lifestyle awhile and have lost many of the inhibitions you might have. You will probably also find others that are at the same place as you. Even if you are not interested in a physical relationship with them, they still might be fun to be around, and can be the beginning of a great support system for you.

You will also run into people you do not particularly care for. That's OK. Just as in real life, you can't expect to like everyone, and can't expect everyone to like you. But you can still be nice and social. If they want more from you, politely tell them you are not interested. Most people will listen.

When you do run into those occasional pushy people, just be firm and tell tem you are not interested. They will get the idea sooner or later. Be blunt, if need be. After all, we are all adults, and can handle the truth.

Your first

Here you are, with the kids at the babysitters, enjoying a glass of wine with another couple. If it's your first time, or theirs, everyone is probably nervous, not knowing what to do first. If you haven't done so already, now would be a great time to talk about your limits, what you feel comfortable with, etc. Talking it out first might seem weird to whoever brings it up first, but you know its on everyone's mind. More than likely, everyone will breathe a sigh of relief that it's out on the table.

Many couples, including us, find it easier to start with our own partners. Don't be afraid to keep a dialogue going with the other couple. If you can keep talking, joking and laughing, you will keep everyone at ease and bring something new and exciting to your experience.