"Gay, polyamorous, and proud!"

queerplanet

Here's another outsider's take on polyamory, from a different direction: considering what we can bring to the gay community. It does seem like we're attracting more notice lately.

...Oddly enough, the straight and bisexual world has coined the term "polyamory" for those practicing a non-monogamous lifestyle, a term that by no means excludes homosexuals, but that seems, to my knowledge, not much in use among the gay community.... The world of polyamory seems full of resources to understand the potentiality of diverse models of affectionate bonds.

Polyamory is defined as "the practice, state, or ability of having more than one sexual loving relationship at the same time, with the full knowledge and consent of all partners involved." ...what is strongly excluded from the definition is cheating: full consent is essential to polyamory.

People in the poly culture discuss the multitude of possibilities that this lifestyle can take.... Communication and honesty are crucial to maintain those consensual relations; words like "polyfidelity" come up to identify specific loyalty involved in such bonds. Polyamorous deny that their lifestyle shows an inability to commit or to fully love someone; the practice ideally consists of more commitment and more love than a monogamous relationship.

Polyamory, though it does not get much public attention, seems to produce a lot of pride among its practitioners, and I am wondering why this proud identity has not reach the gay community more thoroughly....

Read the whole article.