Coming Soon: 'Polyamorist Rights'?

[kweerwolf]

It may only be in its beginning stages, but the "polyamorist movement" may be grabbing onto the coat tails of the increasingly effective homosexual movement.

"Polyamorists" are individuals who maintain more than one emotional-sexual relationship simultaneously, believing that monogamy is unnatural. Relationships can be heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.

Paul Harris, a New York reporter for The Observer, a London, England, newspaper, writes in words that sound strangely similar to those used to describe the homosexual movement.

He said "polyamorists are coming out of the closets across America. Several groups have sprung up. In New York, Polyamorous NYC holds monthly meetings, has an e-mail list of about 800 and holds a Poly Pride Day each year in Central Park.

http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/1/afa/92006e.asp

Fundies wag their fingers and tell the world "See? We told ya all this homo-seck-shul marriage was a slippery slope!"
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[XemaSab]

1. Polyamory?

Like almost every single marriage in the Old Testament????

It's Bad and Sinful unless you're a Biblical patriarch, in which case it's Just and Holy.

[eyesroll]

2. Most polys I know don't say monogamy is unnatural.

They just say *they're* not wired that way. Big difference.

[xchrom]

3. i have to shrug my shoulders at this.

polyamorous folk are not likely be in large numbers -- ever.

and gay folka -- no matter what -- are not them.

just like we are not paedophiles, molesters or anything else beyond the normative.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. Actually, there are gay people who are poly

We aren't all "normal", you know. In my circle of friends are three triads, two with just men and one consisting of two men and a woman.

Granted, we are talking about a small subset of a small subset; YMMV :toast:

[xchrom]

9. i was separating polyamorous gay folk

and polyamorous straight folk and putting them in the same bucket.

either way -- it's never a large number of folk -- most gay folk are very traditional in terms of their partners

back in the day -- a lot of polyamorous relationships got started because gay and lesbian couples wanted kids -- and included the straight person/donor so they could be a part of the childs life.

[sui generis]

13. When I was just a young and highly illegal teen

I lived in an emotionally close highly carnal relationship with 5 dancers from a world famous ballet company in New York - four guys and one gal - for a little over a year. Plus occasional special guests from Alvin Ailey, ABT and Feld.

We had a custom bed made to accommodate all of us, plus custom sheets and comforters. When the company moved from New York to LA we broke apart - it was very sad.

My first long term relationship in Dallas started off with two and we brought on another and were all together for eight years.

It's not a big deal - but it is definitely more work, and requires a different kind of openness and emotional access than a one-on-one relationship. You have to be ready to laugh a lot more often and shrug off the unimportant stuff a lot more often or it can't work.

[xchrom]

14. lol -- now i wonder if we haven't crossed paths?

[sui generis]

15. hmmmmm

Robbie M?

just a totally wild ass guess . . .

[xchrom]

16. nooooo -- but i've met a lot

of guys in my time.

[theoldman]

4. Polygamist are different from homosexuals.

Homosexuals do not disrupt the balance of men and women in heterosexual relationships. There are an equal number of gay men and women. Polygamist reduce the number of women available to heterosexual men. This is why polygamy does not stand a chance of becoming acceptable.

[Left Is Write]

5. Polyamory is not necessarily one man with two or more women.

It could just as easily be one woman with two or more men, or two women with two men, or whatever combination makes sense to the people involved.

[sui generis]

7. I think you're hitting a point there

in a paternalistic society, "women" are property, even in the 21st century.

I'm just surprised that it isn't illegal for a gay man to marry a straight woman. That would technically have the same effect.

[sui generis]

6. ever read Heinlein's "Friday"?

or his "Number of the Beast"?

Both of those describe polyamorous relationships - although in Friday it describes a parent group as a contractual and corporate endeavor.

I think it would be great to raise kids with multiple parents all living together and chipping in. In "Friday" the parents were all very carefully vetted for compatibility, social and economic contribution, outlook, etc.

I hate the "should be allowed" stuff. We're all adults. We have to pay for our daily lives, nobody else does. Nobody else gets to say what we're allowed to do with our lives - certainly not some hard haired asshole who doesn't believe you are a real person unless you worship and fuck like they do.

[Solo_in_MD]

10. Try "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" also by Heilien

For an excellent discussion of various forms of plural marriage including group, line, clan, and polys.

[NMMNG]

11. The slippery-slope risks aside

Polyamory does have solid Biblical roots (which of course the fundies love to forget). Monogamy is actually a variation on "traditional marriage", which in addition to multiple spouses could also include one or more concubines.


I can't help but wonder if the legalization of polygamy might reduce the ever-increasing divorce rate. So many marriages end because one partner becomes bored with the other, or because of infidelity. If there were multiple partners in the marriage the boredom factor and need for infidelity would not be an issue. (I'm not saying there wouldn't be potential drawbacks to polyamory, I'm just pointing out possible benefits.)

[election_2004]

12. I really don't care

I'm a gay male who wants only one legal spouse (of the same sex) to spend the rest of my life with.

But I see no reason why people shouldn't be allowed to enter into multiple-spouse marriages for purposes of inheritence and domestic parity...as long as all parties involved with the joint union are in mutual consent.

It doesn't affect me - - so even though it's not the type of relationship I desire for myself, I'm not going to stand in other people's way.