Dorothy "Dossie"Easton (born February 26, 1944), who has also written under the nameScarlet Woman, is an American author andfamily therapist based inSan Francisco, California.[1]
Easton is a non-fiction author and poet. She has been a plenary or keynote speaker at many conferences, including conferences of the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors and Therapists (AASECT), the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, and theUniversity of Hamburg.
Her B.A. is fromNew College of California, 1975; MA in Education and Counseling fromUniversity of San Francisco, 1989; Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, 1991, USF.[2] Her bachelor's thesis was titledSex is Nice and Pleasure is Good for You.[3] She worked at theHaight Ashbury Free Clinic Psych Annex in 1968 as a psychedelic crisis guide, and she worked withSan Francisco Sex Information for several years, beginning in 1972. She had a radio show on sexuality onKPOO San Francisco from 1973 to 1975 called "Get in Touch", as Mandy Jenkins. She has worked in battered women's centers and mental health clinics in Santa Cruz, Sunnyvale, and San Francisco.
She was a member of the first board of directors of theSociety of Janus in 1974, and is a life member. She is an inductee of the Society of Janus Hall of Fame.[4] She also is or has been a member of other well-knownBDSM organizations such asThe Outcasts, Exiles, and Black Leather Wings, aradical faerie group.
In 1969, Easton made the decision never to enter into a monogamous relationship again.[5] Her books have been cited as fundamental to thepolyamory movement.
Dossie Easton has been a dedicated provider of authentic, compassionate, and respectful psychotherapy and relationship counseling for individuals exploring non-traditional lifestyles since 1962. In a 2023 talk on love, sex, polyamory, and kink, Easton said that ‘those people who live in a world of limitations and fears are missing out on so much that is possible’. The statement emphasizes the idea that there is so much more to life than what can be perceived within the confines of fear and self-imposed limitations. It encourages individuals to challenge their fears and embrace a mindset that embraces possibilities and personal expansion.[6][7]
Dossie Easton and Janet W. Hardy.The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships & Other Adventures. Second edition. Celestial Arts, 2009.ISBN1-587613-37-9.ISBN978-1-587613-37-1[11]
Poems under the name Scarlet Woman and Dossie Easton in works edited byPatrick Califia,Joan Nestle (The Persistent Desire),Leslea Newman (The Femme Mystique)
Scarlet Woman. "Roll Me Over and Make Me a Rose" and "Dress Shirt".The Persistent Desire: A Femme-Butch Reader. Ed. Joan Nestle. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1992. pp 351–352
Scarlet Woman. "Hold Me Down So I Can Fly."The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader. Ed. Pat Califia and Robin Sweeney. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1996. pp 101–103
Scarlet Woman. "For DAVID & JERRY & CYNTHIA & MARK & now CHRISTOPHER too..."Coming to Power. Ed. by members ofSamois, a lesbian/feministBDSM organization. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1981
"Shadowplay:SM Journeys to Our Selves" inSafe, Sane and Consensual, eds. Meg Barker and Darren Langdridge, UK 2007.[12]
"Making Friends with Jealousy" inUnderstanding Non-Monogamies, eds. Meg Barker and Darren Langdridge, Routledge, 2010.[13]
"Cultural Competence with BDSM Clients" inCounseling Ideologies, Queer Challenges to Heteronormativity, ed. Lyndsey Moon, Ashgate Publishing, United Kingdom, 2010.[14]
"Sex and Relationships: Reflections on Living Outside the Box" inFamilies - Beyond the Nuclear Ideal, eds. Daniela Cutas and Sarah Chan,Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2012.[15]
Klesse, Christian.Sexualities Vol. 9 No. 5. Special issue on Polyamory. Contains interview with Dossie Easton, "The Trials and Tribulations of being a 'Slut' – Ethical, Psychological, and Political. Thoughts on Polyamory." December 2006. pp 643–650.
Love, Barbara, ed.Feminists who Changed America, 1963-1975, University of Illinois Press, 2006.
