Polyamory

ARTICLES

Meghan Daum profiles a polyamorous family in Northern California, whose six members (three men, three women) share a complex sexual and emotional network.
Nerve (Nov 2000)

Rona Marech looks at the polyamory lifestyle, profiling several Bay Area people in different types of polyamorous arrangements. The "these folks have multiple Valentines" angle is a bit too cutesy, but a great article overall.
San Francisco Chronicle (Feb 2001)

Ajay Singh explores the polyamory lifestyle and profiles many Los Angeles-area polyamorists. "Polyamory--from the Greek and Latin root meaning 'many loves'--in its most ideal form isn't about casual sex or extramarital affairs. Instead, its proponents say, it is an intimate social network that combines sex and love."
Los Angeles Times (May 2001)

At Mind Caviar, Jamie Joy Gatto and Sabrina Qedesha exchange thoughts on polyfidelity, polyamory, bisexuality and relationships.
Mind Caviar (Jun 2001)

Carol Queen answers some questions about polyamory in her monthly advice column at Good Vibes.
Good Vibes (Nov 2001)

Salon has a pseudonymous, first-person account by a woman in a "body-fluid monogamous" and "polyamorous" relationship. At the risk of being nitpicky, what she describes here doesn't really sound like polyamory per se, but rather an "open relationship" — two people in a committed relationship who are both free to sleep with other people. In any case, this piece honestly explores the emotional challenges that come with this freedom. "While flirting with someone else at a party, having an occasional sexual encounter with a woman (and if I can, why can't he?) or in the moments following an orgasm with Ryan, I feel invincible, like we're partners-in-crime avenging a sexually repressed Gotham. Then it's suddenly gone, and I feel all Sylvia Plath again, in need of constant reassurance of his love."
Salon (Jan 2002)

Jeremy Voas explores the polyamory subculture around Detroit, profiling nearly a dozen people involved in various types of poly relationships. Long, nuanced, very good article.
Metro Times Detroit (Feb 2002)

Also in the North Bay Bohemian, M. Volkova recounts her path from lesbian monogamy to bisexual polyamory. "But I'm beginning to understand that there are many paths to polyamory. Some people always knew about themselves; they could never settle down. Some people are drawn ever upward to Love, a higher state of being that transcends a marriage license. And some people get shitfaced and wake up with a bra on the lampshade and their world turned upside down."
North Bay Bohemian (Feb 2002)

Two sex advice columnists recently wrote very pessimistic responses about making polyamory work. Andrea Nemerson thinks most people aren't temperamentally suited to it and shouldn't kid themselves. "I used to be more idealistic (or less realistic), but my view of nonmonogamy has become increasingly jaundiced over time. It does sound great – what could be better than 'have cake, eat cake, and no cakes are harmed'? And done well (nobody's perfect), by people well suited to it, it is great. It's just that so many people who should never even think of trying to live that way do try it, which inevitably leads to public scenes, ashtray throwing, and letters to advice columnists." Cary Tennis doesn't think it's workable for anyone. "The dyad works because it combines the greatest strength with the fewest stresses. When you reverse that, adding stress and weakening the supports, you aren't designing for stability, you're designing for the excitement of a dramatic Las Vegas-style implosion." (Oct 2002)