ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on qualitative research into gay male and bisexual non-monogamies, power and sexual politics. The social divisions which over-determine and complicate research encounters such as race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality do also impinge on the dynamics in non-monogamous relationships. The chapter addresses the question how commonalities and/or differences with regard to the categories of gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity and nationality affect the researcher/researched relationship. It explores the intersubjective dimension of researching non-monogamies. The chapter focuses on the exploration of male same-sex non-monogamy in the context of lesbian and gay politics. Identity issues have played a significant role. Personal identity issues frequently are interwoven with the development of research agendas. However, people were frequently even more concerned to find out about sexual identity in terms of gendered preferences. The chapter argues that the methodological debates on identity matching lag far behind the developments within social theory on identity and subjectivity.