The Ethical Slut

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The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities
Author Dossie Easton, Catherine A. Liszt
Country United States
Language English
Publisher Greenery Press
Publication date 1997
Pages 288
ISBN ISBN 1-890159-01-8

The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities (ISBN 1-890159-01-8) is an English language non-fiction narrative written by Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt (a pseudonym of Janet Hardy). It is credited with raising awareness of the possibility of consensual non-monogamy as a lifestyle, and providing practical guidance on how such long-term relationships work and are put into practice.

The book's viewpoint is thus one that is frowned upon from many religious and moral perspectives.

Contents

[edit] Content

The authors define the term slut as "a person of any gender who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that sex is nice and pleasure is good for you." The term is reclaimed from its usual use as a pejorative and as a simple label for a promiscuous person. Instead, it is used to signify a person who is accepting of their enjoyment of sex and the pleasure of intimacy with others, and chooses to engage and accept these in an ethical and open way — rather than as cheating.

The Ethical Slut discusses how to live an active life with multiple concurrent sexual relationships in a fair and honest way. Discussion topics include how to deal with the practical difficulties and opportunities in finding and keeping partners, maintaining relationships with others, and strategies for personal growth.

[edit] Significance

Although the term used most frequently in the book, other than slut, is "consensual nonmonogamy", many practitioners of polyamory, swinging, open marriages, and other forms of open relationships consider The Ethical Slut to be a crucial guidebook to putting their lifestyle into practice. It contains chapters discussing how consensual nonmonogamy is handled in different subcultures such as the gay and lesbian communities, information on handling scheduling, jealousy, communication, conflict in relationships, and etiquette for group sexual encounters.

[edit] Film adaptation

An article in the January 31, 2007 issue of the East Bay Express reports that Moses Ma will be producing a movie adaptation of The Ethical Slut.[1]

[edit] Play adaptation

Playwright John Sable's Multiple O, a play adaptation of The Ethical Slut will open on May 2, 2008, at the Broom Street Theater.[2]

[edit] Further editions

Co-author Dossie Easton reported in May 2007 that Easton and Liszt are working on a second edition of the book, including more communication exercises and information about polyamory communities on the Internet.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ Easton, Dossie. Interview. "Episode 110." Polyamory Weekly. By Cunning Minx. May 24, 2007. Quoted in "Upcoming Poly Books and Movie". Polyamory in the News. May 25, 2007.

[edit] External links

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