The Lifestyle
Page 36
Before I began this book I’d met very few colleagues who thought the lifestyle had important implications. Gary Bush, an Academy Award-nominated film director, was one of those few. In 1993 we teamed up to make a documentary film about the subject, and while we were not able to raise the funds to bring the project to fruition, Gary’s many insights about the subculture have influenced my writing. For his gracious (and gratis) support of our proposed film, I thank entertainment lawyer Arthur Evrensel.
My literary agents, Perry Goldsmith and Robert Mack-wood, were also among the first to recognize that the lifestyle required a broad explanation, and I am grateful for their encouragement in this project.
I am additionally grateful to the Canada Council for accepting my plan to handle the book and awarding me a short-term literary journalism grant.
In the end, it was Sarah Davies, my editor at Random House of Canada, who gave me the backing I needed to proceed with my approach to the subject. We both realized that an in-depth examination of the lifestyle would not be easy. Over the course of several drafts Sarah helped me find a form that communicated my research. Anne Collins, editorial director at Random House, offered invaluable advice on the final preparation of the manuscript.
I began this book with a dedication to my wife and I end with the same. Leslie never once expressed a doubt that I could explain the lifestyle high-mindedly. If I’ve come anywhere near to succeeding, it’s because of her support.
Terry Gould
December, 1998
Copyright © 1999 by Terry Gould
All rights reserved under International and Pan American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
First published in 1999 by Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Ltd.
Vintage Canada edition published in 2000.
Portions of this book appeared in different form in
Saturday Night magazine and Vancouver magazine.
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Gould, Terry, 1949–
The lifestyle: a look at the erotic rites of swingers
eISBN: 978-0-307-36929-1
1. Group sex. 2. Sex. 3. Married people—Sexual behaviour. 4. Sexual ethics. I. Title.
HQ21.G68 2000 306.77 C99-931175-1
Magic Penny
Words and music by Malvina Reynolds.
Copyright © 1955, 1958 by MCA-Northern Music Company.
Copyright renewed MCA-Northern Music Company, a division of Universal Studios, Inc.
International Copyright secured. Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
Get Together by Chet Powers
© 1963 (renewed) Irving Music, (BMI).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Warner Bros. Publications Inc., Miami, Fl, 33014.
The term “playcouple,” copyright © 1993 by the Lifestyles Organization, is used with permission.
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