The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy and Casual Sex »

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.

Booknews

Treats readers to personal accounts of the joys, struggles, and successes of living lesbian life with multiple intimate involvements. Also included are theoretical articles and analytical essays addressing the political and social significance of choosing a love- style other than monogamous coupling. How-to articles describe the various polyamorous relationship configurations, and tell how to deal with common problems such as jealousy. Narratives and articles offer refreshing evidence of life beyond the monogamous marriage model. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

	Foreword: Rhomboid Pegs for Oblong Hearts
	Introduction: The Lesbian Polyamory Reader: Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Casual Sex	1
	The Polyamory Quilt: Life's Lessons	11
	If This Is Tuesday, It Must Be Dee ... Confessions of a Closet Polyamorist	23
	Lesbians as Luvbeins	35
	Patriarchal Monogamy	39
	Turning Down the Jezebel Decibels	47
	Poly Wants a Lover	63
	Poly-Friendships	71
	Seven Poems for Three	85
	Addressee Unknown	97
	Bad Friend Book	105
	The Spontaneous Imaginative Life	111
	Matriarchal Village	125
	A Boomer's View of Non-Monogamy	135
	Impossible Body	143
	Paradigms of Polyamory	151
	If Love Is So Wonderful, What's So Scary About MORE?	157
	A Long Journey Towards Polyamorous Bliss	165
	Kitaka's Experiment; or, Why I Started the Ecstasy Lounge	179
	("Denny's Tune") I'm Not Monogamous Anymore, But ...	185
	Dinah, Sam, Beth, and Jolyn Say	189
	Gays to Marry? Let's Not!	197
	Canary in the Coal Mine	205
	Safer Sex and the Polyamorous Lesbian	209
	Models of Open Relationships	217
	The Flexible House: A Fairy Tale	227
	Index	235