Politics makes for strange bedfellows indeed. My husband and I have been married for 21 argumentative years. Technically 10 argumentative years, until I switched my political party affiliations. We had never seen eye to eye on anything, and we rarely had the same opinion on politics. When we first met, we had rousing arguments about who should be President of the United States. We had different opinions on why past politicians did lousy jobs as president or vice president. The only issue on which we agreed was that President Ronald Reagan's trickle down theory of economics was benefiting people … Read More

Author and YourTango blogger Jenny Block opens up about her controversial marriage agreement. 

The 1970s are over, but some things seem to be making a comeback: lava lamps, wallpaper, Donna Summer's concert tour and ... swingers. The fascination with "the lifestyle" (as swingers fondly call it) is seeping into suburban, upper-middle class social scenes. Over drinks and dessert, discussions once focused on home renovations and restaurant openings are giving way to talk about wife-swapping and tales of key parties down the block.

Last month, I attended an end-of-the-elementary-school-year family barbecue in my woodsy suburban neighborhood outside of Washington, D.C. Sitting with four other couples as the kids played Wii downstairs, the parents' conversations … Read More

One of the very first times I got up enough nerve to talk about my open relationship with a stranger, I was in Turkey, of all places, on a business trip.

I was doing research for a travel guide in the relatively modern town of Antalya, and I'd met a very kind local couple who had asked me out to dinner. They were both my age: late twenties, early thirties. The guy—I don't remember his name, so let's call him Nazim—was Turkish. But his wife was an American from Los Angeles. She had creamy brown skin and dark hair, … Read More