Help crowdfund a Poly Guide to Pregnancy

Jessica Burde of Polyamory on Purpose is in the midst of an IndieGoGo campaign to fund a book she's writing, the Polyamory on Purpose Guide to Pregnancy, which she plans to release in mid-March. With almost 10 years of polyamory and some pregnancies under her belt, she is uniquely qualified to dispense advice on the subject. And the subject is in dire need of an in-depth guide. Burde explains,

Pregnancy is a big deal for anyone, but there is a whole cultural and medical template to see monogamous couples through the challenges it creates. For poly-folk, pregnancy creates many challenges that monogamous couples never need to confront, from the unexpected pregnancy when you can't be sure who the bio-father is, to deciding if everyone in your polycule will be raising the child together. There are legal hoops, medical hassles, and relationship issues challenges every polycule will need to confront when someone in the polycule becomes pregnant.

. . . I want to create the guide that I wish I'd had during my pregnancies. I want to create a something that is a concise and complete guide to pregnancy in a polyamorous relationship, so that the information is out there for future poly-parents.

The funds gathered during the IndieGoGo campaign will pay for an editor and publishing expenses. This is a flexible funding campaign, so Burde will receive all money contributed by Monday, December 10th at 11:59 p.m. Pacific, even if it falls short of her $700 goal.

Contributor perks include a copy of the ebook, a signed paperback copy of the book, mentions in the book's acknowledgements, and a subscription to all future Polyamory on Purpose guides.

Burde asks that if you don't have the financial means to contribute, help spread the word about the campaign via social media, poly forums, and local meet-ups. If you do have the means, contribute now!

Poly-friendly book suggestions for kids

How does one find childrens' books and media that do not follow the stereotype of "happily ever after" monogamy? Technogeisha wrote a post at Life on the Swingset about her struggle educating her children about alternative relationship models:

We have been trying to keep the standard narrative driven drivel to a minimum since the birth of our first. It was easier in the early years then the real challenge began in preschool. The other little girls had been fed a non-stop diet of "Someday my prince will come." which our daughter decided to embrace wholeheartedly. A couple of years later a similar thing would happen to our son.

Once they entered school, gender roles were assigned and adhered to. So was the notion of dyadic relationships with the inevitable "first comes love, then comes marriage, the comes the baby in the baby carriage."  It wasn't enough to tell them this wasn't the only option in life. I needed backup. I needed to come up with resources that go against the standard narrative and offer positive views on non-traditional families and relationships. It was difficult to find but I found a few alternatives.

Although it can be hard to find books, TV shows, and movies featuring non-traditional (and especially non-monogamous) families, Technogeisha rounds up some great suggestions. She first recommends books focused on LGBT families, then lists a few with subtle poly themes, such as Else-Marie and Her Seven Little DaddiesSix Dinner Sid, and the story "The Little House That Ran Away from Home" from Strange Stories for Strange Kids.

She also mentions some books for young adult readers, books with themes of self-acceptance and favoritism, and a few movies and TV shows.

Read the whole post at Life on the Swingset.

Petition for multiple-person family law in Taiwan gains signatures

Victoria Hsu, lawyer and president of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), is collecting signatures on a proposal for new Taiwan marriage laws that would allow both same-sex marriages and legal protections for multiple-person relationships.

The multiple-person family portion of the proposed law would adapt the existing law, which Hsu considers "out of date" and "patriarchal," since it is rooted in the practice of concubinage.

The petition has almost 30,000 signatures so far, and Hsu hopes to acquire one million by the end of 2013.

If Hsu's law is adopted by the government, Taiwain would be the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage -- and one of the first countries in the world with a multiple-person family law.

Polyamory Weekly podcast added to The Kinsey Institute

In the fall 2012 issue of their newsletter, The Kinsey Institute announced that the archival episodes of Cunning Minx's Polyamory Weekly podcast has now been added to their Kenneth R. Haslam Collection on Polyamory.

Founded in 1947, The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University promotes interdisciplinary research and scholarship in the fields of human sexuality, gender, and reproduction. The Kenneth R. Haslam Collection, developed by Dr. Haslam in order to further public and academic understanding of polyamory, contains a wealth of materials, including books, conference materials, research articles, newsletters, archives of web-based discussion groups, and more.

With over 340 episodes to date, Cunning Minx has been hosting and producing the Polyamory Weekly podcast since 2005. It is, indeed, becoming a historic bit of polyamory-focused media.