Solidarity Between LGBT People and Polyamorists

At emptyclosets.com, dreamcatcher wrote about "polyamory and the lgbt community"...

Yesterday at my gsa, we had a sexuality panel where people of different sexualities (asexual, pan, bi, gay, etc) gathered together and spoke about their experiences. Two of the panel members up there were polyamorous. They were all supposed to represent all the sexualities of the lgbt community. I'm kind of confused as to why polyamory is being included in the lgbt community. They seem to be two different, unrelated things to me. Can anyone enlighten me?

Some LGBT people are monogamous, some are polyamorous.

jsmurf wrote...

Because bisexual men and women, and gay men supposedly have a knack for not being huge on committed monogamy... Which is total BS, but I guess that's how the hetero world often sees us.

Uh, was the "hetero world" organizing a Gay-Straight Alliance event?

TheEdend got it right with this...

I personally think its a great idea to educate people about the different possibilities for relationships that there are out there. It is still, sadly, a controversial topic for many people so a lot of LGBT organizations prefer to not touch the subject.

Gold Griffin showed solidarity...

I honestly have no problem with polyamory or group marriage in general. I know that it is a frequent talking point of conservatives that legalizing gay marriage leads to polygamy and whatnot, but as long as all the members of the group are consenting (and it is an equal relationship, not the patriarch and his slave wives) then I do not see any real moral obligation that would render either polygamy, polyandry, group marriage, or the like wrong.

Yes, whether someone is heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. is a different factor than if they are monogamous, polyamorous, etc., just like it is a different factor than if they are cisgendered, transgendered, etc. But all of those factors involve someone's identity and their sexuality. So while I can understand the benefit of having an event that focuses on LGBT monogamy, there are some events that should include polyamory not just because some LGBT people are polyamorous, but because even monogamous LGBT people and heterosexual polyamorists face continuing discrimination perpetuated by the same sources. LGBT monogamists who throw poly people under the bus are like those white US women of yesteryear who fought for their rights but threw people of color under the bus. We should all join together, including heterosexual cisgendered monogamous vanilla allies, and say that an adult should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any consenting adults."item"'>

At emptyclosets.com, dreamcatcher wrote about "polyamory and the lgbt community"...

Yesterday at my gsa, we had a sexuality panel where people of different sexualities (asexual, pan, bi, gay, etc) gathered together and spoke about their experiences. Two of the panel members up there were polyamorous. They were all supposed to represent all the sexualities of the lgbt community. I'm kind of confused as to why polyamory is being included in the lgbt community. They seem to be two different, unrelated things to me. Can anyone enlighten me?

Some LGBT people are monogamous, some are polyamorous.

jsmurf wrote...

Because bisexual men and women, and gay men supposedly have a knack for not being huge on committed monogamy... Which is total BS, but I guess that's how the hetero world often sees us.

Uh, was the "hetero world" organizing a Gay-Straight Alliance event?

TheEdend got it right with this...

I personally think its a great idea to educate people about the different possibilities for relationships that there are out there. It is still, sadly, a controversial topic for many people so a lot of LGBT organizations prefer to not touch the subject.

Gold Griffin showed solidarity...

I honestly have no problem with polyamory or group marriage in general. I know that it is a frequent talking point of conservatives that legalizing gay marriage leads to polygamy and whatnot, but as long as all the members of the group are consenting (and it is an equal relationship, not the patriarch and his slave wives) then I do not see any real moral obligation that would render either polygamy, polyandry, group marriage, or the like wrong.

Yes, whether someone is heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, etc. is a different factor than if they are monogamous, polyamorous, etc., just like it is a different factor than if they are cisgendered, transgendered, etc. But all of those factors involve someone's identity and their sexuality. So while I can understand the benefit of having an event that focuses on LGBT monogamy, there are some events that should include polyamory not just because some LGBT people are polyamorous, but because even monogamous LGBT people and heterosexual polyamorists face continuing discrimination perpetuated by the same sources. LGBT monogamists who throw poly people under the bus are like those white US women of yesteryear who fought for their rights but threw people of color under the bus. We should all join together, including heterosexual cisgendered monogamous vanilla allies, and say that an adult should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any consenting adults.