Authorized non-marital sex

• All About This Forum by Marty Klein, 11/16/98
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    • Authorized Non-Marital Sex by Slick Willy, 12/9/98
      
      

Although the above author may simply be fooling around, s/he raises an important point. Many clinicians assume that all serious couples have agreements to be monogamous, and, therefore, that anyone having non-marital sex is having an "affair"--i.e., breaking his/her agreement of sexual exclusivity. As clinicians, we must be open to an enormous range of sexual arrangements, and not pre-judge the various forms of non-monogamous arrangements as quasi-coercive, dishonest, unhealthy, etc. Anecdotally, the numbers of non-monogamous agreements seems to be increasing. Due to demographics and our overall culture, I predict the number and diversity of these non-monogamous arrangements will continue to increase.

• Ways of Knowing and Alternative Arrangements by Mitchell W. Hicks, MA, 12/14/98