Upside Down Pineapple & Swinger: What’s The Connection?
by John Santana
Pineapple is a sweet, delicious fruit that originated in Brazil. Today, the pineapple grows in Hawaii, the Philippines, and South America, but you can also grow your own pineapple from a store-bought pineapple.
In addition to adding a tropical flavor to fruit baskets, sweetening smoothies, and decorating clothes, pineapples have adopted a new meaning in recent years.
Pineapples are known as a symbol of hospitality, and so they became co-opted as a symbol by the swinger community to welcome others into their homes… and relationships. Well, upside-down pineapples do at least.
To find out the real gossip behind why a pineapple is seen as a swinger sign, keep reading. This article explains it all.
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The Origin Of Upside Down Pineapples
The upside-down pineapple did not always represent swingers. In fact, it originated as a symbol for hospitality, so many hotels, cruises, and lodges used upside-down pineapple decorations throughout their properties.
If you saw an upside pineapple on a welcome mat, throughout a hotel, or on furniture, you could be assured you were in good hands. It meant the staff devoted their job to making their guests comfortable.
It is not certain where the symbol started, but beginning in the 18th and 19th centuries, restaurants and hotels used upside-down pineapples to welcome their patrons and make sure they received the best treatment out there in America. Especially in Hawaii, the citizens used the fruit to welcome others into their shops or properties.
It was a symbol of safety and respect. The fruit was also used as a respectful and hospitable symbol in Europe. Rumors have it that during the Renaissance in Europe, the upside-down pineapple signaled welcome and acceptance.
When the upside-down pineapple originated, upside-down fruit symbols were only used to greet royalty and welcome them into new places. The pineapple wasn’t the only upside-down fruit welcoming new people into new places. Today, upside-down pineapples prove how welcoming and open you are to allowing others into your house or workplace.
So, upside-down pineapples have multiple meanings today, but their main idea is hospitality and a welcoming sign to others.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
So, now that we know the origin of the upside-down pineapple, we need to bring up the infamous dessert. Pineapple upside-down cake is a butter-based cake batter that you combine in a skillet with other important ingredients like brown sugar, butter, and pineapple. You pour the batter over the pineapple and cook the cake in the skillet.
You bake the cake, and once it is complete, you flip it over so the pineapple is on top. Giving the treat the name, pineapple upside down cake.
Pineapple upside-down cake is predicted to have originated in America in the 1920s. However, the sweet treat was reserved for the most prestigious of guests. This furthers the idea of upside-down pineapples representing royalty. No ordinary person indulged in the cake; it was an esteemed dessert saved for rare and special occasions.
The reason the pineapple was reserved for royalty was due to its price. The fruit did not come at a low price, so the cake could not be made for any random occasion.
How Do Upside Down Pineapples Relate To Swingers?
So, we know that upside-down pineapples mean hospitality and suggest a welcoming demeanor and that is exactly why it became a sign representing swingers. Since upside-down pineapples invite others into new places, swingers use them to show other people they are open to participating in swinging practices.
It is a way to show other people that you identify as someone who wants to participate in other relations besides your marriage or relationship.
What Is a Swinger?
A swinger is defined as a practice of non-monogamy within a committed couple. Take a newlywed couple, and you want to get together sexually with another couple. You can use an upside-down pineapple to demonstrate that you and your partner are open to the idea. Swinging is a form of non-monogamy, but it is not the only form of non-monogamy.
You can either be in a relationship (married or dating) and have sexual relations with other couples, or you can be single and hook up with multiple couples or multiple people.
Most swingers meet these other couples and engage in sexual activity together. For example, two heterosexual couples could trade wives, and the husband and the other wives have sexual relations with each other.
Swinging has many different variations. Someone might swing for a straight year and decide it’s not for them or take some breaks throughout the year. Maybe a couple has another couple they swing with. Swinging is not as uncommon as some people might think, but the word swinger is losing its popularity.
People do not identify with the word swinger as much as they did in previous decades. Instead, people who participate in swinging practices identify with non-monogamy.
What Other Practices Of Non-Monogamy Are There?
Open relationships are under the general term of non-monogamy, but they are not the same idea as swinging. Open relationships revolve around couples who split up physically to have sex with other people. For example, say Tom and Myrtle are dating and have been dating for three years, but they are in an open relationship.
Tom and Myrtle love each other, but they both have another partner. Myrtle dates Joanna, and Tom dates Jessie. They have time for each other, but they also carry on full sexual relationships with others. With swingers, the couple is completely devoted to each other, but they have sexual encounters together with other couples.
In open relationships, you can do your own thing, and you have multiple partners. If Tom doesn’t want Jessie to be sexual with Myrtle, that is perfectly fine. Open relationships are all about communication and trust.
Open relationships usually focus on a primary relationship: Tom and Myrtle, and the duo experiences sexual and romantic experiences outside of their primary relationships with other people. This practice is not considered cheating because your partner knows you will be active with other people.
Jealousy is not common in open relationships, either. Instead, compersion is fundamental in an open relationship. Compersion refers to one person sharing their happiness with another person. If Tom tells Myrtle he has a crush on a new person, and Myrtle is so excited for him and shares how happy she is that he likes a new person, she is showing him compersion.
Polyamory and open relationships are similar, but they are not the same thing. Polyamory refers to a couple that loves each other and has a successful relationship with one another, and carries on with other relationships that are both romantic and sexual.
Open relationships focus on sexual engagement, while polyamory focuses on romantic and sexual relationships. They are similar but not the exact same. And, being in a polyamorous or open relationship does not mean you are a swinger.
How Can An Upside-Down Pineapple Prove You Are a Swinger?
If you identify as a swinger or participate in swinging practices, you might want to know how to let others know you identify as such. Here’s how to use an upside-down pineapple to alert other swingers of your identity.
One of the main places to place an upside pineapple for other couples to see is in the grocery store. Grab a pineapple, and place it upside down at the bottom of your cart. Since grocery stores sell fruit, and other essential items pertinent to daily life, it is a great place to find other swingers in the neighborhood.
Remember, not everyone who buys a pineapple is a swinger, they might just like the fruit! Make sure to ease into the conversation if you approach someone carrying an upside-down pineapple.
The grocery cart trick can be used to meet other swingers or to tell other swingers you are searching for a swinging party.
Another great place to place an upside-down pineapple is on your door or your front patio/porch. The first place guests go when they come to your house is your porch or patio.
Seeing an upside-down pineapple door knocker tells the guest you identify with swinging or are looking for swinging partners. If you happen to stumble upon a real upside pineapple on a porch, that means a swinging party is happening.
One extremely popular place for swingers to meet other swingers is on cruise ships. A lot of people who identify as swingers place upside-down pineapples on their cruise ship room doors to give other cruise ship guests that warm and welcoming sign and to signal their identity.
It helps the other guests know who on the cruise identifies with them and might help avoid awkward interactions. Again, you can never be sure if someone is into swinging or if they just like pineapple, if they wear pineapple clothing or if they have a pineapple in their house; but if they deliberately put the pineapple upside-down on a door on a cruise, if you knock, you might just find another swinger.
Swinger cruises have gained popularity since they were formed in 2008. They are a surefire way to meet other swingers since they are cruises dedicated to swingers, but if you find yourself on a ‘regular’ cruise, one of the ways to show your identity is to place an upside-down pineapple on your door.
Other Swinger Signs
Besides pineapples, swingers can identify each other through other methods. One main way is to move your wedding ring from your left ring finger to your right.
If you are into landscaping, you can add some rocks to your yard or decorate the yard with pink and purple ornaments. Additionally, wearing a black ring on your right hand, wearing a toe ring, a thumb ring, or an anklet are all other signs of swingers.
Final Thoughts
When the upside-down pineapple originated as a symbol, it stood for royalty, hospitality, warmth, and welcome. Today, it means the same with a slight sway. It also represents a swinger or a couple who has sexual relations with another couple while their partner participates.
Since swingers welcome new people into their homes and lives, it is no surprise the community uses the symbol of welcoming to invite others into their community. Now that you know the origins of the upside-down pineapple symbol and how it relates to swinging, how will you view the fruit?
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