By Juliette Tang
While some of us can’t even handle being in a single relationship much less multiple relationships, The Ethical Slut author Dossie Easton has been non-monogamous since 1969. Easton will be at the Center for Sex and Culture (1519 Mission St) tomorrow (June 5, 2-4pm, $5-$10 sliding scale) for a book signing, reading, and discussion of The Ethical Slut‘s recently released second edition, which contains two new chapters (Opening an Existing Relationship, Lifestyles of the Single Slut) and extensive rewrites, particularly around the topic that is inherent in any discussion of polyamory: jealousy. For those who engage in polyamory – or for those merely interested in the possibilities – Easton’s book is a straightforward, informative, and illuminating resource on consensual non-monogamy as a lifestyle.
Polyamory will always be a controversial subject as long as monogamy is the cultural norm. Not only is marriage an inherently monogamous institution (and an institution that is now best described as bullshit in the state of California), but we even tend to think of dating as a series of monogamous relationships separated from one another by fallow periods of ‘singlehood’ that only end when we meet the next person we want to be monogamous with. This idea of having “one” partner is reinforced everywhere, from culture to ethics to law, and it’s ingrained in the very rituals and ideologies that dictate our social behavior.