September 27, 2010
Anapol (Polyamory: The New Love Without Limits) gives the lie to her title by spending much of this disjointed book musing about her own personal experiences with nonmonogamy and activism over the past several decades. Some sections are clearly intended for those who know nothing at all about polyamory or its history, but only longtime members of Anapol's choir will enjoy her preaching on terrible "old paradigm" relationships that value stability and longevity over honesty and happiness, wonderful "new paradigm" relationships that "bring forth and honor the inner wisdom of each person," and the ostensible common personality traits of polyamorous people (strength, charisma, independence). Nebulous definitions cause further confusion: for example, if two people "freely embrace sexual exclusivity" of their own will rather than because of societal pressure, Anapol still considers them polyamorous. Interesting facts and overviews of nonmonogamy throughout history and across much of the world are obscured by terms like "lovestyles" and "sexualoving," reliance on binary gender constructs and gender essentialism, asides about Anapol's personal dalliances, and plugs for her other books.