Fraught Intimacies: Non/Monogamy in the Public Sphere

Adultery scandals involving politicians. Dating websites for married women and men. News reports on raids of polygamous communities. It seems that non-monogamy is everywhere: in popular culture, in the news, and before the courts. In Fraught Intimacies, Nathan Rambukkana delves into how polygamy, adultery, and polyamory are represented in the public sphere. His 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.

Nathan Rambukkana is assistant professor in communication studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is the editor of the collection Hashtag Publics: The Power and Politics of Discursive Networks. He blogs at http://complexsingularities.net.