The Lesbian Polyamory Reader

Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex

Marcia Munson, Judith Stelboum

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781560231202
• eBook ISBN: 9781317994558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Scienze sociali
• Subtopic: Studi di genere

In reading The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex, you'll quickly discover that the steps toward love and happiness are as easy as 1, 2, 3, and maybe even 4 or 5. And you'll find that if your own lesbian relationship lies outside the "traditional monogamous couple" model, you're definitely not alone. You'll explore many multifaceted and multifarious love relationships, each one applicable to your own liking, if you so choose. You'll find successful models of relationship styles--regardless of your own orientation--from cover to cover, and you'll discover the pleasing polyphony in the many, many female voices of authorities on love and love relationships.Whereas other similar studies project the limited view of one or two authors, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader calls upon a broad scope of writers, professional women and academics alike. You'll see that outside the gay rights movement that currently pushes for a traditional, monogamous marriage model of gay couplehood, there lies pleasing multiplicity in the arms and hearts of lesbians worldwide. Specifically, this collection offers:

• "first person" articles--stories that describe a variety of lesbian experiences relating to multiple lovers in the 1970s, '80s, and '90s
  
• "how-to" articles--descriptions of the various polyamorous relationship configurations, including ways of dealing with jealousy
  
• "theoretical" pieces--the history of multiple relationships, the social implications of practicing a love style other than monogamous coupling, and safer sex considerations

Much, much more than a book on personal satisfaction, The Lesbian Polyamory Reader also focuses on the social implications of this love phenomenon, bringing it into a more inclusive circle of discussion for lesbians, educators, and students of sociology and sexology. You'll find satisfaction in seeing the love so many lesbian women have achieved by not mimicking the "marriage model" of living.

Index

Abraham, 40

Academic conferences, 4,44,97-103, 143

Adam and Eve, 40,42

"Addressee Unknown" (Jay), 4, 97-103

Adolescents, passionate friendships of, 78-79,80

Advertising, 2,190-191

Aerial Letter, The (Brossard), 45

Agape, 40

AIDS, 5,40,209. See also HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)

Allegra, Donna, xv-xviii

Amassalik, 51

American Couples (Blumstein and Schwartz), 205-207

Animals

human dominance over, 41-42

monogamy of, 44

pair bonding by, 198

"An Unspoken Hunger" (Williams), 19

Arnold, June, 13

"As the Women Turn" (radio program), 128-129,131-132

"Bad Friend Book" (Sprecher), 4, 105-110

Banaro, 51

Barnard Women's Conference on Sexuality, 44

Barney, Natalie, 173

Beach, Frank, 51

Below the Belt, 106-107

Betrayal, 17,18

Bible

condonement of polyamory by, 199

patriarchal concepts of, 40,41-42

Biphobia, 163

Birth control, 199

Birth control pill, 1

Bisexual couples, 219,223

Bisexuality, 4

Bisexual men, bisexual and lesbian women's relationships with, 214-215,221-222

Bisexual women

fear of non-monogamy of, 158-160

heterosexual sexual activities of, 214

male lovers of, 162-163,214-215, 221-222

outness of, 161

in polyamorous relationships, 158-164

in polyfidelity relationships, 221-222

"Boomer's View of Non-Monogamy, A" (Martin), 3,135-142

Boston Marriages: Romantic but Asexual Relationships Among Contemporary Lesbians (Rothblum), 81

Breast cancer, 215

Broumas, Olga, 56-57

Brown, Rita Mae...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Indexing & Abstracting
• Illustrations
• About the photographer
• About the editors
• Contents
• Foreword: Rhomboid Pegs for Oblong Hearts
• Introduction: The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex
• Choosing Alternatives
• Friends and Lovers
• Living The Dream
• So Many Women, So Little Time
• Index