Darren Langdridge

Whatever happened to non-monogamies? Critical reflections on recent research and theory

The last decade has seen an explosion of interest in consensually non-monogamous relationships. This article critically reviews current research and theory in this area, focusing particularly on polyamory, swinging, and gay open relationships. The sociohistorical context in which these forms of relating emerged is considered and discussed in order to better understand why there has been such a significant increase in scholarly work on non-monogamies at this moment. Furthermore, we categorize the extant literature into two groups, ‘celebratory’ and ‘critical’, and argue that such polarization frequently works to reinforce partial and dichotomizing understandings of the topic. Research so far has primarily concentrated on the rules and boundaries which people employ to manage such relationships and we contend that future work needs to pay more attention to diversities of meanings and practices, intersections with other identities and communities, and the troubling of dichotomous understandings.

II. Bisexuality: Working with a Silenced Sexuality:

At psychotherapy supervision one of my colleagues presented a male client who was in a sexual relationship with a woman but defined himself as gay. After some group discussion of whether the label ‘heterosexual’ or ‘gay’ was most appropriate for him, I suggested that there might be other possibilities if he wanted a description of his sexuality. The group appeared baffled until I offered: ‘well I’m bisexual’.

Understanding the reasons for parenthood

There have been considerable changes in childbearing decision‐making in the West over the last 50 years. These changes have produced a concern with understanding and predicting fertility change amongst demographers, sociologists, and psychologists. This paper presents findings from a survey (n = 897) of a representative sample of white married couples in the UK currently without children. Gender differences are examined across a wide range of reasons for and against parenthood. A scale of the reasons for parenthood is developed in order to predict intentions to have a child. An 11‐reason scale best predicts classification into intenders and non‐intenders for both men and women. Only two demographic variables, age and marital length, also discriminate between intenders and non‐intenders and these variables have both a direct and indirect effect on intentions. Most importantly for those interested in effecting behavioural change, reasons for parenthood significantly improve classification beyond that of demographic variables alone.

The construction of self: The public reach into the private sphere

The public/private debate has not been a major feature in recent sociological theory. However, Bailey (2000) has argued for a renewed sociological research programme to focus on the sociological private. He outlines three dimensions of this: intimate relationships, the self and the unconscious. This article seeks to address two of these dimensions, the production of self-theories and unconscious dis-avowal. We extend this theorizing to account for the experience of sexual engagement, and present a discourse analysis of the diaries of the comedian and actor Kenneth Williams (1928-1988). Drawing principally on the thought of Merleau-Ponty (1962) we argue that our analysis demonstrates the importance of a pre-reflective engagement with the social world that is then reflected on in internal dialogue. We show how discourse analysis may be used to demonstrate the dis-cursive production of a self-theory and the role of such a self-theory in the dis-avowal of the principals pre-reflective engagement with others.

A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Investigation of the Construction of Sadomasochistic Identities

Plummer (1995) argues that we are living in a time of ‘new sexual stories’. This, combined with arguments that we are seeing the advent of the ‘sexual citizen’, who refuses to be marginalized on account of his or her sexuality, produces new sexual subjectivities that demand recognition and respect. In this article, we report on an investigation of a sexual story that is not new in itself but one that is yet to be fully explicated. This story is one involving dominance and submission. A hermeneutic phenomenological analysis (Ricoeur, 1981) of World Wide Web sites concerned with sadomasochism was conducted to examine the discursive resources drawn on in this paradoxical world. The findings are discussed in relation to the ‘transformation of intimacy’ (Giddens, 1992) and rise of the ‘sexual citizen’ in late modernity.

Gay affirmative therapy: A theoretical framework and defence

SUMMARY Gay affirmative therapy (GAT) has recently emerged in an attempt to rectify previously discriminatory psychotherapeutic practice with lesbians, bisexuals and gay men. GAT aims to achieve this by providing a framework for practice which is affirmative of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities. This “positive framework” is clearly challenging for psychotherapies which seek to avoid imposing specific expectations on their clients, and a number of humanistic and existential psychotherapists have challenged the applicability of such a framework for their practice. This paper examines these arguments and suggests that Ricoeurs formulation of hermeneutic phenomenology may provide a solution. It is argued that incorporating a version of a hermeneutic of suspicion and critique of the illusions of the subject into psychotherapeutic practice would enable therapists to recognise and work with the twin impact of the psychotherapist and social world on the construction of a clients sexual identity.

THE EROTIC CONSTRUCTION OF POWER EXCHANGE

Plummer (1995) has identified a number of new sexual stories that characterize erotic life in late modern societies. He notes a number of such scripts emerging and flourishing between 1970 and 1990, speculating that sadomasochistic stories might be in the ascendant at the turn of century. However, Langdridge and Butt (2004) find little evidence of the emergence of a coherent sadomasochistic identity. They contend that the transgressive nature of the sexual in sadomasochism makes it difficult for participants in such practices to achieve legitimate “sexual citizenship” (Weeks, 1998). In this article, we note the emergence of an alternative construction of sadomasochistic practices; one that emphasises the erotic exchange of power. This illustrates both personal and social moments in the construction of erotic life.

Voices from the Margins: Sadomasochism and Sexual Citizenship

Practitioners of sadomasochism (SM) are currently excluded from full citizenship in the UK. However, in recent years we have seen a growth in stories of sadomasochism and with this a challenge to this exclusion from some within SM communities. Over the last ten years or so we also have witnessed the emergence of feminist, sexual and queer citizens providing radical challenges to mainstream approaches to citizenship. This article explores how SM provides boundary tests for notions of citizenship and how it also occupies a particularly complex position with regard to the relationship between citizenship and transgression and the intersection of gender, sexuality and citizenship. In the light of this, it is argued that it is necessary to engage dialectically with citizenship and transgression as a way of meeting the different needs of community members while continuing to work to transform the sexual citizen.

“Can't Really Trust That, So What Can I Trust?”: A Polyvocal, Qualitative Analysis of the Psychology of Mistrust

This paper describes an experiment in carrying out, as a group, a phenomenological analysis of a qualitative interview on the topic of mistrust. One in-depth interview was analyzed phenomenologically by each of the six members of our group. We then shared and discussed our individual analyses to generate a consensual analysis. Finally, additional or divergent perspectives were offered by individual group members to add further contextual and reflexive dimensions. We consider what we gained from this exercise and the difficulties encountered. We also reflect on the insights into the topic of mistrust produced by our analyses.

Gay fathers, gay citizenship: on the power of reproductive futurism and assimilation

Edelmans new ethics of queer theory is focussed on the all-pervasive image of the child, which he argues provides the foundation for the hegemonic politics of ‘reproductive futurism’ (L. Edelman, 2004. No future: queer theory and the death drive. Durham, NC: Duke University Press). His searing criticism raises important questions for sexual citizenship, and particularly for the gay parent as citizen. Edelmans argument that queers should abandon accommodation and instead embrace their position as the figure of negativity offers a challenge to all those gay men that seek to be fathers. In this article, I critically engage with Edelmans arguments and explore the implications of a queer rejection of reproductive futurism and parental privilege through an empirical investigation of young gay mens stories about the possibility of becoming fathers. I argue that whilst Edelmans uncompromising stance serves to open a space for gay men embracing the jouissance that is increasingly being abandoned through an assimilationist desire for citizenship, it also, more problematically, closes down possibilities for gay men and thus further reinforces present inequalities in citizenship. Is negativity the only option in the face of the onslaught of reproductive futurism or might there be a dialectical solution that is at once radically queer but also reflective of the variety of claims for sexual citizenship?