Whatever the structure of a long-term relationship, in terms of gender breakdown or number of people involved, I believe that long-term relationships are good for the larger society. People with loving families have something to lose; they are invested in their lives and being good citizens….( Read more )
by Amelia G : August 25th, 2010
I’ve been thinking about fellow Wesleyan alum Tristan Taormino lately because she was the original catalyst for my Backstage Passes anthology. Tristan is very prolific, but one of her most recent projects is the book Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships. If you are in an open relationship or considering some form of one, I recommend picking this book up.</p>
I know so many people who really struggle with the lack of a road map for polyamory or swinging. I’ll spare you all my snarky bon mots re: the differences between those who are polyamorous and those who swing and just say that Opening Up is helpful. I’m not the world’s #1 fan of open relationships, partly because I have so many friends who will come up with a special boundary rule (such as he can have sex with other people but not orgasm inside them) and then . . .
( Read more )
by Amelia G : February 14th, 2010
Whatever the structure of a long-term relationship, in terms of gender breakdown or number of people involved, I believe that long-term relationships are good for the larger society. People with loving families have something to lose; they are invested in their lives and being good citizens.
Why does it occur to me to mention polyamory and gay marriage today in particular? It is February 14, Valentines Day, and the number two most searched term on Google is polyamorous. Valentines Day, the date for celebration of traditional romance, seems like a peculiar day for searches to be volcanic for polyamourous. Are people thinking that they don’t feel obligated to buy enough special dinners, lingeries, flowers, and candy today? What would make today the day to suddenly wonder about what it means to be polyamorous?
Now, head on over to Gothic.net and ask for a standard definition of what it means to be gothic. Okay, don’t do that because you probably already know that you will hear quite varied explanations. Polyamory is much the same. Some people feel that being poly is about connecting sexually with a larger-than-average number of partners, but only people you connect with emotionally as well. Some people feel that poly means having one primary partner and then other lovers in relationships of varied terms. Some people practice polyamory the same as any dyad two person marriage, but with . . .
( Read more )