Janet W. Hardy is a mass of seeming contradictions: mother and slut, dominatrix and homebody, intellectual and showtune queen. The author or coauthor of ten groundbreaking books about relationships and sexuality, including The Ethical Slut (75,000 copies sold to date, with a second edition coming in 2009 from Ten Speed Press), Janet has traveled the world as a speaker and teacher on topics ranging from ethical multipartner relationships to erotic spanking and beyond. She has appeared in documentary films (Slut, Beyond Vanilla, Vice and Consent, BDSM: It’s Not What You Think), television shows (SexTV, The Dr. Susan Block Show), and more radio shows than she can count. Janet's writing has appeared in publications as various as The Sondheim Review, Clamor, and EIDOS. Her essay “Ex” was a finalist in the Event and New Letters creative nonfiction contests, and her article “The Eater's Guide to Food ” will appear in June in California Arts and Living. She often fantasizes about being handcuffed to Stephen Sondheim’s piano.
photo courtesy Rachel Kramer-Bussell