Poly in the Media – Page 2

Female boxer: polyamorous?

Listening to Weekend Edition on the local NPR station today, I heard an interesting piece, "'I Am A Boxer': Fighter In The Ring, Lady Outside It," about female boxers who hope to make the U.S. Olympic Team for women's boxing. The first woman profiled was Bertha Aracil, a 29 year old amateur boxer. Talking about Aracil, reporter Marianne McCune said this (emphasis mine):

When I met her she was living in a basement apartment in the Bronx with a man and a woman she called her husband and her wife. They were cooking for a band of nieces, nephews, and sisters, part of a big family of Cuban immigrants. Aracil is 5'9" with jeans, boots, she says that her many tattoos tell the story of who she is.

Whoa, what? That's right. Not only was Aracil clearly open about her nontraditional and nonmonogamous (polyamorous?) relationship, but the NPR reporter treated it as completely ordinary, just part of the profile. Unfortunately, this little item is missing from the written piece on npr.org, but you can download the audio of the segment here.

Poly Living 2012 approaching

The 7th annual Poly Living Conference in Philadelphia is about a month away! It's happening February 10th through 12th at the Embassy Suites Philadelphia Airport Hotel. Poly Living has reserved a block of rooms at the hotel, and there are only a few days left to take advantage of a special, discounted room rate. Book a reservation online before Tuesday, January 10th to receive the reduced rate.

Here's a description of the Poly Living Conference:

Since 2005 when George Marvil hosted the first Poly Living Conference in Philadelphia, it has been the best place to warm up your winter with fun, learning and polyamory community. Whether you are new to polyamory and wanting to find out more, a professional interested in helping clients or an experienced poly person looking to have fun with old friends, Poly Living is a great place to learn, explore and connect with real people.

This year's keynote speaker is Alan M. of the blog Poly in the Media. His talk is called "Busting Loose: Polyamory in the Next Five Years." There will also be a Friday night social and a variety of workshops from esteemed presenters. Attendees will be able to learn:

New models beyond marriage and monogamy
Communication skills
Being real and honest about what you want
Making agreements that work for you
Polyamory 101
Managing emotions and jealousy
Enjoying pleasure and letting go of shame
Poly living styles -- knowing what you want

Registration for the conference is $125 and you can register online.

Media blitz for Jaiya Ma and family includes interview with Anderson Cooper

Sex expert and author Jaiya Ma, along with her partners Ian and Jon, have been taking the media by storm recently. First, they were profiled in a lengthy piece in Details magazine about MFM poly families. The article has a strange tone and makes some assumptions, but is ultimately accepting of polyamory:

it's hard to see the harm in egalitarian, secular arrangements like Jon, Jaiya, and Ian's . . . if plural marriage is ever to gain broad acceptance, it won't be because of Mormon fundamentalists. It will be because of people like Ian, Jon, and Jaiya -- affluent, educated city dwellers in mutually respectful relationships.

Jaiya wrote about the coverage on her blog, and Alan at Poly in the Media contacted some of the other people who were featured to see if they felt the piece was fair.

Then, Jaiya, Jon, and Ian were interviewed on Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show. The show included a little video montage of their home life, followed by questions from Cooper and the audience. Several clips of the show were posted on Anderson Cooper's blog. Check them out: