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"This volume is an important one, because it teaches, in the most intimate way possible, the complex lessons of embrace and rejection of sisters. Lesbians do not want to be 'accepted.' We want to be, and to have, sisters. As with all love, the greatest enemy of that goal is fear."-from the foreword by Sheila Kuehl

The first-person accounts of 25 women stand as a powerful and courageous collective effort to address the traditionally homophobic and heterosexist atmosphere within sororities and gain greater understanding of the true nature of sisterhood.

Shane L. Windmeyer is the assistant director of student activities at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte. Pamela W. Freeman is the assistant dean of students at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

• tensions between lesbians and bisexual women
• the shifting place of bisexual women in society
• the use of skin color as a charged metaphor
• the inclusion of bisexuality into queer theory
• groundbreaking new work on bisexual youth
• the creative use of the “sacred whore” archetype

Psychology's approach to sexual orientation has long had its foundation in essentialism, which undergirds psychological theory and research as well as clinical practice and applications of psychology to public policy issues. It is only recently that psychology as a discipline has begun to entertain social constructivism as an alternative approach.

Based on the belief that thoughtful dialogue can engender positive change, Conversations about Psychology and Sexual Orientation explores the implications for psychology of both essentialist and social constructionist understandings of sexual orientation. The book opens with an introduction presenting basic theoretical frameworks, followed by three application sections dealing with clinical practice, research and theory, and public policy. In each, the discussion takes the form of a conversation, as the authors first consider essentialist and constructionist approaches to the topic at hand. These thoughts, in turn, are followed by responses from distinguished scholars chosen for their expertise in a particular area.

By providing an array of comments and thoughtful responses to topics surrounding psychology's approaches to sexual orientation, this valuable study sheds new light on the contrasting views held in the field and the ways in which essentialist and constructionist understandings may be applied to specific practices and policies.