You may be thinking, "What exactly is alternative dating?" While preparing to write this hub, I found myself wondering the same thing. Does alternative mean adult? Gay? Polygamous? Does it mean you want to connect with convicts? Swingers? Military men? Well, ladies and gentlemen, I've come to understand that it means all these things. Alternative is any interest that isn't mainstream, and mainstream is the bulk of online dating sites that you see advertised on television commercials and turnpike billboards, like eHarmony.com and Match.com. It's one man plus one woman that equals one relationship, whether online or in real life. Most of these mainstream places don't have a "women seeking women" option or a "looking for swingers" category, and by excluding these preferences they are essentially excluding a good portion of the dating population.

Luckily, that is where alternative dating sites come in. Alternative sites cater to the categories that mainstream sites either see as too taboo or don't anticipate enough of an interest from the general population and therefore don't devote any time to particular sub-categories. I've put together a guide to some of the best alternative dating sites on the web, focusing on the niches I mentioned above--military, Christian, gay and lesbian, swingers and more.

Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Friendster aren't typically advertised as dating sites, but that doesn't mean they can't be used as such. All three sites allow you to search for "friends" by setting specific parameters. MySpace, for example, lets you do an advanced search where you can narrow the results down by hair color, eye color, height, weight, body type, age and marital status. You can choose whether or not he or she smokes, drinks, has kids, wants kids, doesn't know or doesn't care. With such specific options, it's easy to find your next love interest using these sites. Plus, they're free, and as long as you sign in and the person whose profile you're visiting doesn't have theirs set to private, you can see their photos, friends and "About Me" sections instantly.

planetout.com/personals

Out of all the dating sites available on the net today, Planet Out is the only one that I can personally vouch for because it is the only one that I have ever used. Back in 2005, after breaking up with my ex-girlfriend but before finding my new one, I decided to try my hand at an online dating site and found Planet Out to be the best choice for both men and women. It's free to join up and create your profile, and you can search for other members by name, location or various characteristics. Although you can see the person's default picture full-size, most people have several different photos uploaded to their accounts. If you want to see those, however, or if you'd like to e-mail a potential love match via the site, you'll have to sign up for PersonalsPlus, which is $69.95 for one year or just $4.95 for three days.

gay.com/personals

It may be advertised as the "hottest LGBT online community" but although Gay.com is intended for both men and women, it's quite clear that the site is dominated by gay men. But they trick you by allowing you to do a member search right off the bat, and even returning pages worth of results. When you go to click on someone's pic, however, you are instantly told "Welcome to Gay.com! You must be a registered member to continue." Luckily, there are two options: member and premium. Member is free, and allows you to search personals, see results, view profiles, access chat and build a profile of your own. If you'd like a bit more bang for your buck, then the premium plan gives you all that plus the ability to view private and adult photos, reply directly to profiles that interest you, enter multiple chat rooms at once and access the Men After Dark adult site.

bicupid.com

If you know you're not straight, but you're not quite gay, then you might be most comfortable at a dating site geared towards bisexual and bi-curious men and women. BiCupid is the internet's largest dating site for bi singles, and includes bisexual blogs, bi advice and daily bisexual news in addition to personals. Pretty much everything is "Members Only" so it's in your best interest to sign up and take the plunge. The bisexual blogs are accessible no matter what, however, and they're a pretty active forum discussing coming out stories and the trials and tribulations of being bi.

rainbowchristians.com

Gay Christians may sound like an oxymoron, but it's extremely important for gay and lesbians who have not abandoned their faith just because they've come out to have a place where they can meet others who still embrace their Christianity along with their sexuality. Rainbow Christians grew from the fact that most standard Christian dating sites absolutely do not offer a section for LGBT connections. A low cost of just $5/month lets you find a life mate, a friend or just a Bible study partner. The quick search is free, however, and you can view the profiles as well, learning the person's denomination, general information, appearance and what he or she is looking for. But if you want to send a message, add to favorites or read her blog, you're going to have to fork over the dough.

adultfriendfinder.com

When I first logged in to this site, there were 119,088 like-minded individuals currently online at the same time. Out of that number, approximately 18,000 were either chatting or using Instant Messenger to connect with each other. I'd say those are some pretty good odds! Whether you're kinky and alone or wild and coupled, Adult Friend Finder offers a platform for you to explore the possibility of making your fantasies become realities. You can search by location, date or activity such as Erotic Chat, Discreet Relationship, Group Sex or just plain old Fun. Member webcam videos showcasing seductive stripteases and one-on-one webcam chats set this site apart from the rest, but it's their Private Call feature that I found most appropriate. If you're looking to connect with someone but wary about giving your phone number out to complete strangers, Private Call lets you talk on the phone (for free!) with any Adult Friend Finder member without the stress and hassle of exchanging your actual numbers. It's quick, it's easy and best of all, it's SAFE. With over 18 million members and growing bigger every day, you're practically guaranteed a hook-up you'll never forget.

prescription4love.com

It can be hard to find a soul mate when you know you've been diagnosed with a contagious disease such as herpes or HIV. Not because no one will date you, but because you might feel uncomfortable announcing that information to the whole world right off the bat on a standard dating site. That's why Prescription 4 Love is such a great idea. It was designed specifically so that people with special health conditions would have a place to safely divulge their medical history. You don't have to worry about finding the right time to inform your potential love interest of your condition, because he or she will already know. There are 23 categories that P4L deals with, including AIDS/HIV, cancer, obesity, deafness, diabetes, Hepatitis, herpes, and burn victims, and the entire site is currently free of charge!

littlepeoplemeet.com

After a relatively short sign-up process, you'll have access to over 500+ little people looking for love. The site is not exclusively for little people looking for other little people to date, however. There are individuals of average stature on the site as well. If you're only interested in little people, the site has an option where you can specify height requirements. To be classified as a little person, one must be 4'10" or shorter. The site is free to browse and free to send "flirts", but sending a personalized message will cost you $9.95 a month (or $6.65 per month if you're willing to commit to six months at a time.)

millionairemate.com

Exclusive online personals reserved only for wealthy, sophisticated singles, Millionaire Mate is a dating site for the beautiful people. I can't quite figure out if the site is geared towards gold diggers or not, but most signs point to yes. For example, their homepage states, "For women: Meet talented and successful men who've achieved wealth and status and are eager to share the benefits of a fabulous lifestyle with you." Whether you're interested in casual dating, a discreet encounter or a long-term relationship, Millionaire Mate's patented Wealth Verification System ensures that you'll only be matched up with real upper-class citizens--NO wannabes. But how exactly does this wealth verification system work? As far as I can tell, the only indicator of wealth is the income drop-down box on the sign-up page, where one can select his or her appropriate income bracket (less than $100K, $250-$500K, more than $2M, or Prefer Not to Say). Any old Joe can log-on and lie about his financial status, so exercise caution when browsing through this one.

insidethewalls.com

Everyone needs a friend, and incarcerated convicts are no exception. There are dozens of websites set up solely to connect those on the inside with those on the outside. Hundreds of men and women have met their soul mates while they were imprisoned behind bars, some of who either were or are still currently on Death Row with no chance of parole. Inside the Walls promotes friendship and encourages people to be instruments of hope for prisoners who otherwise don't have much to live for. Created by a former prisoner himself, the webmaster explains how hearing his name at mail call never failed to instill hope within his heart by being reminded that someone still cared about him. Inside the Walls features artwork and poetry made by incarcerated individuals as well as dozens of prisoner profiles. Special sections devoted to prisoners who need legal aid and prisoners on death row highlight the individuals who need extra attention.

iam.bmezine.com/pers4.exe?

BMEzine.com, the best place to go for pictures of tattoos and piercings, which offers an encyclopedia of knowledge on how to clean and care for body mods of all types also has a section devoted to dating. BME Personals is free to use but you must do so at your own risk as it is largely un-moderated. The best part is that you don't need to sign up in order to browse the profiles or do an advanced search. Unlike most online dating sites who hide their member's contact info until you sign up for an account yourself, BME displays the email addresses to members and non-members alike, so browsing is easy and making contact with someone who catches your eye is incredibly quick and simple. It's a fairly basic design and yet the advanced search function is surprisingly comprehensive. It has 3 categories: for long term, for short term/hookup and for friendship/pen pal. Under each of those categories you can specify what you're looking for (male, female, male+female couple, female+female couple). General interests (vegetarian, geek lifestyle, straightedge), Bod Mod interests (tongue piercing, genital piercing, lots of tattoos) and Kink/Play interests (foot fetish, voyeurism) are the other searchable subcategories.

Now that you've found a site you may want to use, take a look at the below YouTube videos. They offer tips about what you should look out for when utilizing online dating, things to think about before you commit and even a history of the evolution of the online dating world.