from Social Issues

British Psychologist
Argues For Multiple Sex Partners

July 8, 2004 - Dr. Meg Barker, a psychology lecturer at University College Worcester, England presented a paper on open relationships at a July, 2004, meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Psychology Group part of the British Psychological Society's Psychology of Women's Section conference in Brighton.

According to a report published July 8 on RainbowNetwork.com, a British gay web site, Dr. Barker suggests that women who have open relationships with multiple sex partners could be fostering open communication, expressions of emotions, and support networks.

Dr. Barker is a member of the Lesbian & Gay Psychology Section of the British Psychological Society and has written on the value of normalizing S&M, non-monogamy, and bisexuality. One of her most recent papers is "Revisiting Rubin: Are S/M, non-monogamy and bisexuality still in the outer limits?"

In her description of this paper, she writes that instead of "judging sexual acts according to some arbitrary line between good and bad, we consider the level of mutual consideration, coercion, and the pleasures they provide." Barker also writes on vampires and cultural understandings of wickedness, studying Goths and Pagans and how they describe their lives.

Dr. Barker contributed to the book, Cultural Expressions of Evil and Wickedness: Wrath, Sex, Crime. Her essay "Satanic Subcultures? A Discourse Analysis of the Self-Perceptions of Youth Goths and Pagans" is followed by an essay by Michael F. Strimiska: "The Evils of Christianization: A Pagan Perspective on European History."