The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities
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Consumer Rating: 
By: Dossie Easton and Catherine A. Liszt
Format: Paperback
From: Greenery Press (CA)
Pub. Date: November 1997
From: Greenery Press (CA)
Pub. Date: November 1997
Product Details:
Catalog: Book
Release Date: 1997-12
Media: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 280
Ean: 9781890159016
Isbn: 1890159018
Catalog: Book
Release Date: 1997-12
Media: Paperback
Number Of Pages: 280
Ean: 9781890159016
Isbn: 1890159018
ABOUT THE BOOK
USER REVIEWS
"I love love love love love love love this book. It arrived in excellnt condition as well."
~ Written on 2008-08-16
~ Written on 2008-08-16
"You have to wonder why so many negative reviews people find helpful about this book. Being a bit in the lifestyle my wife and I were encouraged to read this book.. I have to agree with a lot of the negative reviews.
The author comes across as a narcissistic teenager looking for rationalizations on why it is good to put sexual gratification above other peoples feelings. This is not for someone in a loving relationship looking to experiment with alternate life styles. According to the author if it gets in the way of your orgasm then you walk right over it. Relationships and communication on how to work things out in a realtionship be damned.
I think maybe if you were single and wanted a way to justify why its ok to play the field, then this book is for you. If you are really curious about the lifestyle, and are in a relationship then I recommend looking elsewhere. "
~ Written on 2008-08-16
The author comes across as a narcissistic teenager looking for rationalizations on why it is good to put sexual gratification above other peoples feelings. This is not for someone in a loving relationship looking to experiment with alternate life styles. According to the author if it gets in the way of your orgasm then you walk right over it. Relationships and communication on how to work things out in a realtionship be damned.
I think maybe if you were single and wanted a way to justify why its ok to play the field, then this book is for you. If you are really curious about the lifestyle, and are in a relationship then I recommend looking elsewhere. "
~ Written on 2008-08-16
"I purchased this on recommendation of a friend. I found it very informative but a lot of points that were made in the book are common sense. I guess if you are thinking about this lifestyle, it is a good guide to help you put your thoughts and feeling in order."
~ Written on 2008-07-14
~ Written on 2008-07-14
"I read this book, not really sure what I was going to get out of it. I'm not in a "poly" relationship (or even really interested in one) but I wanted to get insight into how other relationships function and how other couples interact. Particularly, how sexuality and love play a role in couples who have an open-relationship. Since it seems relevant to the other reviewers - I'll disclose that I'm a straight male in my mid-twenties in a relationship.
A lot of the other reviews of this book seem to focus in on the authors narcissistic view of their relationship and the lesbian-centric aspect of the book. While I found both of those characteristics to be true, they're easy to read past and get to the real dirt of the book: that the modern concept of love, relationships and morality stems from a Beninger model of control - Western society depended on coupling and monogamy to control spread of disease, foster better child rearing, and so on. Ethics and morality that demanded monogamy were the lever used to control behavior and create societal constraints. Dossie and Easton throw this out and argue that society no longer needs this control and we can adjust our relationships (and ideas about ethics - i.e. slut) accordingly.
Their practical advice, I hope, should be pretty obvious: be honest, be open, recognize and avoid jealousy, be rational, maintain constraints and give respect when due. None of their advice is really unique to polyamorous relationships and seems pretty universal among any type of relationship. I was unable to really ascertain any information about what makes polyamorous relationships any different from normal ones other than that you have to work extra hard.
This book should be a quick read - if you cut out the personal anecdotes and parts where they pat themselves on the back (there are lots of those), you can crank through the book in probably about 30-45 minutes.
The only thing I felt I was really able to extract from this book was Dossie and Easton's unique philosophical view about the historical context of monogamy and a more post-modern view of sexuality. After about chapter three, I didn't get much out of the book - it all seems quite obvious and is written with a moderately offensive tone of superiority."
~ Written on 2008-06-25
A lot of the other reviews of this book seem to focus in on the authors narcissistic view of their relationship and the lesbian-centric aspect of the book. While I found both of those characteristics to be true, they're easy to read past and get to the real dirt of the book: that the modern concept of love, relationships and morality stems from a Beninger model of control - Western society depended on coupling and monogamy to control spread of disease, foster better child rearing, and so on. Ethics and morality that demanded monogamy were the lever used to control behavior and create societal constraints. Dossie and Easton throw this out and argue that society no longer needs this control and we can adjust our relationships (and ideas about ethics - i.e. slut) accordingly.
Their practical advice, I hope, should be pretty obvious: be honest, be open, recognize and avoid jealousy, be rational, maintain constraints and give respect when due. None of their advice is really unique to polyamorous relationships and seems pretty universal among any type of relationship. I was unable to really ascertain any information about what makes polyamorous relationships any different from normal ones other than that you have to work extra hard.
This book should be a quick read - if you cut out the personal anecdotes and parts where they pat themselves on the back (there are lots of those), you can crank through the book in probably about 30-45 minutes.
The only thing I felt I was really able to extract from this book was Dossie and Easton's unique philosophical view about the historical context of monogamy and a more post-modern view of sexuality. After about chapter three, I didn't get much out of the book - it all seems quite obvious and is written with a moderately offensive tone of superiority."
~ Written on 2008-06-25
"This is a great book. I couldn't help but relate it to some stories I've been reading on Literotica dot com by an author who writes under the name "Romantic1". His stories as well as this book down play the difficulties of dealing with the rest of society when you adopt a polyamorous life style. What you end up doing is picking your friends as ones sympathetic to your life style not necessarily those that will help you grow and evolve in new dimensions. Reminds me too of the book Open Marriage by George and Nena O'Neill back in the early 1970s. Changes in this direction can't happen fast enough to suit me! "
~ Written on 2008-04-22
~ Written on 2008-04-22