Polyamory in the Spotlight

Thanks to OWN's Our America with Lisa Ling featuring some polyamorous people, awareness of polyamory is accelerating again. Most of the reactions I have seen from poly people have been positive. Rich Juzwiak at gawker.com had this...

In a brash Barbara Walters-esque style, Ling asked several of the profiled subjects what it's like to be considered perverts and freaks by mainstream society for loving multiple people. It was almost cartoonishly rude, but it gave the opportunity for what all seem like reasonable, well-adjusted people to give reasonable, well-adjusted answers about their way of life ("lifestyle," a word frequently used on the show even by the polyamorous, seems like a pejorative, but maybe that's just me being gay).

"There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. It's not something to hide or be ashamed of. Loving people, however you love them, is not a bad thing," said one correct person. The rational case for polyamory expands.

And huffingtonpost.com also noted the program.

Colleen is a seemingly typical 11-year-old girl. She loves horseback riding, her new phone, and her friends. But Colleen's family is anything but typical; they are polyamorous, meaning that they have multiple partners. Colleen and her mother, Regina, live with Russell, Regina's husband, and Dave, Regina's boyfriend. In this deleted scene from "Our America with Lisa Ling," Regina speaks about the benefits of having multiple adults around to help raise her daughter. She also reveals how their unique lifestyle is explained to Colleen.

"We've been open pretty much her entire life," she says. "It's just been this gradual introduction over time, that some people think that you are only allowed to love one other person. And how we've presented it is we've found that we can actually love more than one other person. And that doesn't mean that this relationship is less because I love this other person too."

The more awareness of polyamory, the better. Sure, some prejudiced people will spew hate. But more people will be able to put a name to who they are and that polyamory is a viable option, and more allies will be created as people see that polyamorous people are just like everyone else. We're your classmates, your coworkers, your neighbors, your family members... we're everywhere, and there's no good reason poly people should be denied their rights.
"item"'>Thanks to OWN's Our America with Lisa Ling featuring some polyamorous people, awareness of polyamory is accelerating again. Most of the reactions I have seen from poly people have been positive. Rich Juzwiak at gawker.com had this...

In a brash Barbara Walters-esque style, Ling asked several of the profiled subjects what it's like to be considered perverts and freaks by mainstream society for loving multiple people. It was almost cartoonishly rude, but it gave the opportunity for what all seem like reasonable, well-adjusted people to give reasonable, well-adjusted answers about their way of life ("lifestyle," a word frequently used on the show even by the polyamorous, seems like a pejorative, but maybe that's just me being gay).

"There's nothing wrong with what you're doing. It's not something to hide or be ashamed of. Loving people, however you love them, is not a bad thing," said one correct person. The rational case for polyamory expands.

And huffingtonpost.com also noted the program.

Colleen is a seemingly typical 11-year-old girl. She loves horseback riding, her new phone, and her friends. But Colleen's family is anything but typical; they are polyamorous, meaning that they have multiple partners. Colleen and her mother, Regina, live with Russell, Regina's husband, and Dave, Regina's boyfriend. In this deleted scene from "Our America with Lisa Ling," Regina speaks about the benefits of having multiple adults around to help raise her daughter. She also reveals how their unique lifestyle is explained to Colleen.

"We've been open pretty much her entire life," she says. "It's just been this gradual introduction over time, that some people think that you are only allowed to love one other person. And how we've presented it is we've found that we can actually love more than one other person. And that doesn't mean that this relationship is less because I love this other person too."

The more awareness of polyamory, the better. Sure, some prejudiced people will spew hate. But more people will be able to put a name to who they are and that polyamory is a viable option, and more allies will be created as people see that polyamorous people are just like everyone else. We're your classmates, your coworkers, your neighbors, your family members... we're everywhere, and there's no good reason poly people should be denied their rights.

Posted in: love,media,polyamory