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© Laboratorium. 2011. Vol. 3, no. 2:148-149
NOTIONS OF LOVE IN POLYAMORY—ELEMENTS IN A DISCOURSE ON MULTIPLE LOVING
Christian Klesse
Polyamory stands for a particular relationship philosophy, according to which it is valid and desirable to love more than one person. Love, intimacy, commitment, honesty, equality, reciprocity, integrity and communication are the central values attached to this 'love style', 'relationship orientation' or 'ethical approach' to consensual non-monogamy. The identification of love as the foundation of meaningful erotic and intimate connection is the common feature of most interpretations of polyamory. The author analyses popular publications on polyamory and personal narratives generated in qualitative in-depth interviews with primarily bisexual-identified polyamorous men and women in the UK with the aim of discerning salient features in the discourse of poly love. The article locates polyamory in a conjuncture of specific developments regarding (romantic) love practices in the 20th and 21st centuries.
'WHEN I ENTER THE ELEVATOR OF MY HOUSE, I ALREADY FEEL LIKE I AM AT WORK': BORDERS BETWEEN WORK AND NOT-WORK IN NETWORK MARKETING
Natalya Savelyeva
This article considers the reasons for and the mechanisms of the erosion of boundaries between work and not-work in multi-level direct-sales organizations. The article is based on the author's in-depth research on the American cosmetics distribution company Mary Kay, active in Russia since 1993. As the activities of the company distributor turn from hobby to career, the border between professional and personal spheres, work and not-work becomes increasingly fluid. A necessary
A BSTRACTS
(although not exclusive) condition for this fluidity is the absence of wage contract between the Company and its distributors. This transformation results in the changes in everyday practices of the distributors: work practices become integrated into not-work practices, transforming the form and meaning of the latter. As a result, activities which previously were separate from work become “work" in and of themselves: socializing with friends, maintaining social networks, personal grooming, as well as the spheres of emotional and subjective affect. This strengthens the reassignment of work as not-work, “leisure," or “hobby," which supports the belief of the distributors in the fairness and advantage of their own position and helps justify the expenses connected with their work for the Company.
'IT’S LIKE A MUSEUM HERE': THE SHOPPING MALL AS PUBLIC SPACE
Anna Zhelnina
The emergence of large shopping malls and shopping and entertainment complexes in St. Petersburg, as in many other Russian cities, was a hallmark of the early 2000s. The existing literature describes shopping centers as an example of the new consumer culture in changing post-socialist societies. This article treats them as public spaces and an arena for processes of social differentiation, social exclusion, and formation of new identities. Drawing on evidence from a qualitative study conducted in St. Petersburg in 2006-2008, it concludes that shopping centers, perceived as models of a “European" and “civilized" way of life, have become a quasi-public space for the “middle class," banishing members of marginal groups and “undesirable" patterns of behavior. At the same time, even the relatively homogeneous environment of shopping centers gets segmented: their customers create in-group social classifications.
IN A ZEITNOT: NOTES ON THE STATE OF RUSSIAN ANTHROPOLOGY
Sergey Sokolovskiy
The current state of Russian anthropology is assessed on the basis of the analysis of recent and historical trends in anthropological research and publications. Particular attention is paid to the institutional, social and political influences on the development of the discipline. The author comments on the external and internal factors contributing to the ongoing crisis in Russian anthropology, highlighting the current demographic structure with its predominance of the elder generation as the key factor in its current stalemate.
