Fraught Intimacies: Non/Monogamy in the Public Sphere (Sexuality Studies) - Hardcover

Rambukkana, Nathan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 077482896X ISBN 13: 9780774828963

Publisher: UBC Press, 2015

Synopsis

Adultery scandals involving politicians. Dating websites for married women and men. Raids of polygamous communities. Reality shows about polyamorists. It seems that non-monogamy is everywhere: in popular culture, in the news, and before the courts.

In Fraught Intimacies, Nathan Rambukkana examines how polygamy, adultery, and polyamory are represented in the public sphere and the effect this is having on intimate relationships and aspects of contemporary Western society.

As this book demonstrates, although monogamy is considered and presented as the norm in Western society, many kinds of sexual and romantic relationships exist within its borders. Rambukkana’s intricate analysis reveals how some forms of non-monogamy are tacitly accepted, even glamourized, while others are vilified and reviled. By questioning what this says about intimacy, power, and privilege, this book offers an innovative framework for understanding the status of non-monogamy in Western society.

About this title

About the Author

Nathan Rambukkana is an assistant professor in communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. His work centres on the study of discourse, politics, and identities, and his research addresses topics such as hashtag publics, mixed-race representation, digital intimacies, intimate privilege, and non/monogamy in the public sphere. He is also the editor of the collection Hashtag Publics: The Power and Politics of Discursive Networks (Peter Lang Press, forthcoming). He blogs at http://complexsingularities.net.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 077482896X
• ISBN 13: 9780774828963
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 244