Category: Polyamory

Poly takes the stage on The Good Men Project

Recently, there has been an explosion of articles about poly and non-monogamy posted on The Good Men Project, a website dedicated to examining men's roles in modern life.

One article about non-monogamy was posted back in December, but there was a call for submissions that resulted in a good many more articles. Many of them have been posted in their polyamory section, but here's a list of the best ones, with short snippets from each.

Polyamory, Fidelity and Faithfulness

The more honest you are with your lover about what you want from them, the more opportunities they will have to hurt you, but the more faithful to you it is possible for them to be.

The Poly Closet

. . . it often makes people uncomfortable when I come out as poly -- revealing that I am not only capable of romantically loving more than one person, but I am doing so comfortably . . .

Bi Polyamory: Calling a Spade a Spade

Polyamory . . . is the recognition that there is no such thing as an 'affair,' 'hook up,' 'mistress,' 'Fuck Buddy' or a 'Friends with Benefits' but rather that such really IS a true relationship and that such labels are only the boundaries (positive or negative) that one chooses to practice it in.

Monogamy Isn't For Everyone; Polyamory Isn't Going to Ruin the World

I think it is important to set a discourse in motion that recognizes polyamory as a legitimate relational style, and that allows people to begin thinking differently about the variety of ways in which people can relate.

Polyamory: Rebooting Our Definitions of Love and Family

I do long for a world in which we can see the value and possibility of many different ways of forming relationships, and in which we can each freely form our own decisions about the kind of family we’d like to create.

Polyamory Is Pro-Family

We suspected that having multiple adults around to care for an infant would be great, but I don't think any of us had any idea just how great it would be.

Have you completed the polyamory and marriage survey?

Saturday, March 31 is the deadline for participation in the Loving More sponsored polyamory and marriage survey, which means there are less than two weeks left to submit you answers. The survey is meant to gauge how polyamorous people feel about marriage.

The survey is fairly brief and all responses will be kept confidential. No individually identifying information will be collected.

Take the survey here!

Video tips for successful non-monogamy

Marcia Baczynski, open relationship coach and co-creator of Cuddle Party,  has launched a website and series of videos featuring tips for successful non-monogamy. Baczynski has been working with open and poly folks for 8 years, so she has seen patterns, success stories, and missteps in her clients' relationships.

The first video, which is live on Baczynski's website, is about the three things that successful open relationships have in common. The following videos -- which can be accessed by submitting a name and email address -- detail the common mistakes that couples make when opening up their relationships, and how to avoid them.

Baczynski is holding a free teleclass on Thursday, March 22nd to answer viewer questions. She can also be found on Twitter.

Alan M. on where polyamory’s headed

Alan M. of Poly in the Media gave the keynote speech at the Poly Living 2012 conference in Philadelphia, and the full text is available on Alan's blog. Entitled "Busting Loose: Polyamory in the Next Five Years," Alan's speech details all the recent wins for the poly community, citing positive news stories as indicative of a shift in the public perception and media portrayal of poly folks.

For instance: Unlike in previous cheating-politician scandals... (laughter)... the Newt Gingrich open-marriage episode two weeks ago became a vehicle for major media attention to good open and poly relationships, contrasting with how Gingrich did it . . . Representatives for poly done well are suddenly in demand to I think an unprecedented degree.

. . . Our own presenters Anita and Tim Illig and Michael Rios and Sarah Taub here this weekend were riding this wave last night on the Channel Seven news in DC, representing us and our values just beautifully.

. . . Other milestones in the last month or so: In the space of one week, we saw poly triad families, each with a kid, profiled positively on ABC's Morning Edition, Nightline, and the National Geographic Channel. More and more of the public is getting acquainted with what multi-partner families actually look like. We are becoming more familiar; on the way to being normalized.

That same week, we also saw a broadcast-TV drama, ABC's "Private Practice," present a fictional polyamorous triad family — explicitly called that by name, so viewers would be sure to get it -- treated so well, and at such length, that it reminded me of the first breakthrough shows treating gay characters with understanding and respect.

. . . we've by and large successfully represented the modern polyamory movement to the public as what we know ourselves to be: ethical people who care deeply about good relationships -- smart, verbal, interesting, friendly people -- nonthreatening and respectful of all well-considered relationship choices, monogamy included — and by and large just kind of adorable. Every year we are better entrenching this public image, firming up our defense against future moral panics.

Alan's keynote goes on to explain how poly culture could influence the direction and survival of Western civilization 150-200 years from now. In all, it's a refreshingly optimistic speech. Read the whole thing here.