''The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities'' is an English language

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

book by Dossie Easton and Janet Hardy (given as pseudonym Catherine A. Liszt for the book's first edition in 1997).

Content

The authors define the term ''

slut ''Slut (archaic: slattern)'' is an English-language term for a person, usually a woman or girl, who is considered to have loose sexual morals or who is sexually promiscuous. It is usually used as an insult, sexual slur or offensive term of d ...

'' as "a person of any

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

who has the courage to lead life according to the radical proposition that

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...

is nice and pleasure is good for you." The term is

reclaimed Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

from its usual use as a

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

and as a simple label for a

promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by ma ...

person. Instead, it is used to signify a person who is accepting of their enjoyment of

and the pleasure of physical

intimacy An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...

with others, and chooses to engage and accept these in an ethical and open way—rather than as

cheating Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate crit ...

. ''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. It contains chapters discussing how consensual non-monogamy is handled in different

subcultures A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, pol ...

such as the

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

and lesbian communities, information on handling scheduling,

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

, communication, conflict in relationships, and etiquette for group sexual encounters.

Adaptations

A 2007 article in the ''

East Bay Express The ''East Bay Express'' is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is distributed throughout Alameda County and parts of Contra Costa County every Wednesday. The ' ...

'' reported that Moses Ma would be producing a movie adaptation, but as of 2014, the project had not come to fruition. In 2013, Ben Fritz (producer/director) raised funding privately and via Kickstarter to create an episodic

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

inspired by the book with input from Easton and Hardy. By 2016, four seasons of ''The Ethical Slut'' were released on YouTube despite struggles for funding after the first season. There are 50 episodes, which range between 4 and 9 minutes. The series follows two female friends as they decide to explore open relationships with the help of ''The Ethical Slut''. A

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

adaptation of the book by John Sable called ''Multiple O'', described as an "erotic comedy", opened on May 2, 2008, at the

Broom Street Theater Broom Street Theater (also known as Broom Street or BST) is an experimental black box theater located in the heart of Madison's isthmus. As one of the oldest and most prolific experimental theater companies in the United States, it has produced ov ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

Editions

Second edition (2009)

In May 2007, co-author Dossie Easton reported that she and Liszt were working on a second edition, including more communication exercises and information about online

polyamory Polyamory () is the practice of, or desire for, romantic relationships with more than one partner at the same time, with the informed consent of all partners involved. People who identify as polyamorous may believe in open relationships wi ...

communities. It was published in March 2009 and is called ''The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures''.

Third edition (2017)

A third edition was released in August 2017 entitled ''The Ethical Slut, Third Edition: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships, and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love''. It was revised to include interviews with polyamorous millennials, who had grown up without the prejudices their elders encountered regarding gender, orientation, sexuality, and relationships. It also contains tributes to poly pioneers and sidebars on topics such as

asexuality Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad s ...

and

sex work Sex work is "the exchange of sexual services, performances, or products for material compensation. It includes activities of direct physical contact between buyers and sellers as well as indirect sexual stimulation". Sex work only refers to volun ...

ers. The authors also include new content addressing nontraditional relationships beyond the polyamorous paradigm of "more than two": couples who don't live together, couples who don't have sex with each other, nonparallel arrangements, couples with widely divergent sex styles, power disparities, and cross-orientation relationships, while utilizing

non-binary gender Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

language and new terms that have come into common usage since the last edition.

Translations

''The Ethical Slut'' has been translated into several different languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Russian. * Russian: ''Этика бл**ства'', published in 2006 * French: ''La Salope éthique: Guide pratique pour des relations libres sereines'', published by Tabou Éditions in April 2013 * Spanish: ''Ética promiscua'', published by Editorial Melusina in 2013 * Italian: ''La zoccola etica. Guida al poliamore, alle relazioni aperte e altre avventure'', published by Odoya in January 2014 * German: ''Schlampen mit Moral. Eine praktische Anleitung für Polyamorie, offene Beziehungen und andere Abenteuer'', published by mvg Verlag in May 2014

References

External links

A review
of ''The Ethical Slut''
Comic
on Qwantz Dinosaur Comics {{DEFAULTSORT:Ethical Slut, The 1997 non-fiction books English-language books Sexual ethics books Polyamory Sex positivism Sexual fidelity Non-fiction books about sexuality Works published under a pseudonym