Talking About It in Georgia

An independent newspaper serving the University of Georgia community covered a recent event of importance at the LGBT Resource Center.

On Tuesday, the LGBT Resource Center hosted a conversation called “Have We Left the Old Ways of Monogamy Behind?” The resource center hosts bi-monthly conversations called “Let’s Talk About It,” to give students a safe place to talk about taboo topics like this one.

Once again, LGBT people lead the way, making life better for everyone.

The group began with ground rules to make sure everyone was safe to express their opinions respectfully, then they defined terms that would be used in the discussion: monogamy, polyamory, polygamy, polyandry and polygyny.

Great!

Jennifer Leyting, a senior family financial planning major from Suwanee, was one of two contributors to the conversation who was in a polyamorous relationship.

“I thought it was awesome that they talked about this because when I first realized polyamory existed like that was an option, I was sixteen, I was in high school and I had never heard of it,” Leyting said. “You didn’t hear about it, period.”

One of the main goals of the discussion was to battle negative stereotypes associated with alternative types of living.

“I like trying to show people how it can work and that it can be a positive thing,” Leyting said. “And like I said during the discussion, it’s not the only path. If someone feels that their personal relationship path is monogamy, then that’s fine, that’s fabulous. It’s a choice thing.”

Thank you, Jennifer! Keep up the good work! When young people are discovering their identity and thinking about relationships and the future, they need to know that it is okay not to fit into a narrow little box. If monogamy is what they need and want, great. But it should also be okay for them to be polyamorous, whether they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, or bisexual, or some other orientation.