Poly wanna what? Reshaping the debate on polyamory
The cover story of today's
RedEye is all about
polyamory. Other articles include a glossary of poly
lingo and a
resource guide for Chicagoans on, among other things, where poly peeps go to sing karaoke:
The PolyChi
Yahoo! Group, founded in the late '90s, has more than 1,000 members and
hosts a monthly PolyKaraoke night at Sidekicks, a karaoke lounge in
Irving Park.
Like bisexuality, which has been around since the dawn of orgies, polyamory is one of those topics that gets "discovered" every few months or so by mainstream media outlets. The comments usually goes something like this
Yelp thread:
"Interesting article in the Red Eye today. I cannot see how these 'relationships' can last very long without serious issues."
"No way, no how - love triangles end up with someone dead. And there's no 'love' involved anyhow!"
"I'm a simpleton. I've never given this kind of 'thing' much thought,
but sitting here now, it really just sounds like cheating."
"Mormons pretty much have this shit down, man." To
recap, if you practice polyamory, you are actually a polygamous Mormon
with serious issues who cheats and ultimately murders people. Glad we
cleared that up.
While the RedEye does a decent job of
introducing polyamory, its perks and challenges, I'd like to see the
debate move away from
Us VS. Them mentality and more about what
it is that makes alternative relationships so objectionable? And why is
monogamy considered the only healthy relationship style?
To learn more about this, check out
Cunning Minx, who hosts a
weekly podcast about her adventures in polyamory. Or pick up
Tristan Taormino's Opening Up or the ever-referenced
Ethical Slut.
2 Comments
Joe the Cop said:
I wonder what the domestic disturbances would be like. I can't count the number of husband/wife & boyfriend/girlfriend domestics I've been on, and I've been on quite a few same-sex domestics, but never a 3 or more sided domestic.
Anna Pulley said:
Hmm..yeah, I've never seen statistics on triangular love affair abuses. Except on Dawson's Creek. :) If you find out, you should let us know!
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