November 2009, 203pp, 61/8x91/4, eBook/Hardcover
Print: 978-0-313-37966-6
$49.00 / £38.00 / 41,00 € / A$63.00
eBook: 978-0-313-37967-3
eBook pricing available upon request
Imprint: Praeger
Subject: Current Events and Issues/Society
Love, Sex, and Marriage in the 21st Century
Curtis R. Bergstrand and Jennifer Blevins Sinski
1 Volume
Based on an exhaustive survey into the lives of real people, Swinging in America: Love, Sex, and Marriage in the 21st Century concludes that nonmonogamous relationships such as swinging and polyamory offer a new blueprint for combining sex and love—one that may prove more in line with the way people actually live their lives in our society.
Swinging in America begins with what we know about swingers and the swinging lifestyle, based on personal narratives and over 40 years of sociological research comparing swinging and non-swinging couples on factors such as personal happiness, marital satisfaction, psychological stability, and personal values. The second half of the book explores the historical rise and contemporary decline of monocentrism—the sexually monogamous marriage as the organizing principle underlying our culture—and the implications of this decline for new nonmonogamous relationships and marriages.
features
Includes data from a national survey, conducted by the authors, of 1100 swingers in the United States
Offers first-person accounts from people in the swinging lifestyle
Provides extensive bibliographies after each chapter documenting sources of information discussed in the text
Lists a comprehensive index of terms and topics
Curtis Bergstrand, PhD, is associate professor and program director of the Department of Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Anthropology at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. He has numerous publications in scholarly academic journals on topics such as the family, social problems, deviant behavior, and health care. He is a recipient of the Grawmeyer Award for excellence in teaching and has made appearances on the National Geographic Channel's Taboo series as an academic expert on swinging and marital infidelity.
Jennifer Blevins Sinski MAT, MA was a principle researcher in a 2000 national survey of swingers in the United States. She has published several scholarly papers on swinging and nonmonogamous lifestyles and is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences on the subject. Sinski is a faculty member in the English Department at Elizabethtown Community & Technical College. Her current focus of research is PTSD / interference in language development and is currently writing a book on childhood PTSD and the impact on adult development.