"Consensual non-monogamy a way of life for Edmonton polyamorists"

Edmonton Journal (Canada)

This nice little profile, in a leading newspaper of Canada's conservative prairie provinces, describes the local poly community. The story is currently the most-read item on the paper's website. The public comments so far are mostly polite and worth reading, and our representatives are doing a fine job.

Consensual non-monogamy a way of life for Edmonton polyamorists

Alyson Sildra, founder of Polyamory Edmonton. (Photo: John Lucas, Edmonton Journal)

By Fiona Buchanan

An unusual Edmonton group is seeking to raise awareness about their unique formula for blissful romance. Polyamory Edmonton is a group of people that practise consensual, non-monogamous relationships. They are in the process of becoming a non-profit organization and want to educate Edmontonians about their unconventional take on romantic partnerships.

Founder Alyson Sidra, who is married and dating outside that relationship, gives a crash course on polyamory and explains why it can be a recipe for relationship success.

What is polyamory?

If someone identifies as polyamorous, they are open to having more than one romantic partner with the openness, consent and honesty of everyone involved. There wouldn’t be any cheating or anything secretive. Everyone knows who the other is dating or involved with.

...Polyamorous relationships must be tough to manage with so many people involved. Is it tricky?

It can be. We jokingly say that poly people can be very adept at scheduling. Other than that, most poly relationships have very similar issues to monogamous ones, just with more than one person.

Some people might say that romantic love doesn’t work when it is not exclusively between two people. How do you view it?

In my marriage, it felt comfortable for us to open up to love and to date other people without it feeling at all threatening or making our own relationship insecure. In fact, in a lot of ways, it tended to make it stronger. There’s a lot of communication involved.

You are not born with a certain amount of it and it definitely doesn’t get depleted the more people you have in your life. People view romantic love as something very different, but the love that you have for family and friends and children, it multiplies. For polyamorous people, so does romantic love. I think most poly people would agree that their capacity for love is just part of who they are....

Read on (Sept. 7, 2014), and leave a comment.

The story was reprinted the next day in Canada's National Post, under the headline Edmonton polyamory group seeking non-profit status, wants to extol the benefits of multiple romantic partners.

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