When the phrase "Alternative culture" comes up, people typically think of hippies, punks, Goths, and Emos, all mightily backed and defined by the music, which these countercultures founded themselves upon, and the fashions derived from it. A little thought of taboo, when thinking about alternative culture, is thinking about alternative sexual culture.

What is normal anyways these days? With attitudes towards alternative lifestyles and sexuality becoming more and more open minded, the lines have begun to blur a little. For an example though, go turn on your TV. There are plenty of sitcoms out there that attempt to give us a look at the "normal" mainstream perspective. Sure there are some shows that dive into the racier side of life, but for the most part its normal people living relatively normal lives.

Therefore, what's considered under the umbrella of alternative sexual culture? It is a shifting definition. In most definitions, this includes homosexuality, but changes in the public opinion make this an out dated perspective. Common alternative sexual cultures are BDSM, standing for "bondage, domination/discipline, sadism/slave and masochism/master."; BDSM is an umbrella term for a variety of kinks based on bondage, dominance and submission, pain play, and humiliation play, often the realm of kinks that may pop into mind when asked to define the phrase kinky.

Next, we have the polyamory community. Polyamory comes from the root words ‘Poly' meaning "many" and ‘Amory' meaning "love". For those involved with the polyamory

community, it is not uncommon to have multiple significant others, set apart from the swinging community due to their opinion that it is not about sex with multiple partners so much as it is about having an emotional connection with multiple partners, and overcoming jealousy to have meaningful relationships with each of their partners.

Swinging is a practice, which is often considered as a lifestyle to some, of couples swapping sexual partners. Sex clubs exist all over the globe for tramps to meet likeminded couples. This typically is a no-strings attached arrangement and purely for recreational purposes! Most couples in the swinging scene tend to remain emotionally committed to one another. Of course, there are hundreds of sexual lifestyles considered as being alternative. Every kink imaginable has its own community following.

Alternative culture defines all walks of life. Let's face it! We cannot lead "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyles! The human nature will always have a bit of a deviant streak. It may sometimes be deviating from the social norms of body modification, fashion, music or even sex. In some way, all of us lead a bit of an alternative lifestyle, whether we necessarily look the part or not.