Infidelity: Outlaws and In-Laws and Lesbian Relationships

SUMMARY

How does one define infidelity in lesbian relationships? Because lesbians cannot marry, they exist outside of the law. Do lesbians, like other “outlaws,” create their own code of ethics? All relationships evolve structures in response to social constraints; we must beware of transferring normative assumptions to relationships that develop within their own culture. The boundaries of lesbian relationships are not as fixed as those of heterosexual ones, partly for lack of this legal recognition and partly because they have evolved somewhat in opposition to traditional marriage. Variations on traditional relationships and the different meanings they may hold for the women who create them are explored.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• lesbian couples
• lesbian relationships
• infidelity

Acknowledgments

Beverly Burch, Ph.D., has a psychotherapy practice in Berkeley, California and serves as a clinical consultant with The Sanville Institute in Berkeley. She has published two books on psychodynamic theory, On Intimate Terms (1992) and Other Women (1997), exploring issues of gender and sexuality. Her first book of poetry, Sweet to Burn, won the Gival Poetry Prize and a Lambda Literary Award.