Polyamorists Among Edmontonians

Considering recent history in Canada and media coverage thereof, it is nice to see a piece at edmontonjournal.com that doesn't trash poly people. Instead, Fiona Buchanan interviewed Alyson Sidra. Even the comments, last I checked, had some great explanatory worth.

Photograph by: John Lucas , Edmonton Journal

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.

Good for them!

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.

That's a good way of explaining polyamory. 

What makes polyamory any different from polygamy or polyandry?

Well first of all, polyandry is a form of polygamy. If you only want to describe one male-multiple female marriages, that would be polygyny. As I explain in the link, I consider polygamy to be a subset of polyamory.

Does this relationship structure actually work out in the long-term?

Given how many divorces and breakups there are among claimed monogamists, the same question could be asked of monogamy.

Can you explain why people wouldn’t want to expose their polyamorous relationships publicly?

Sure: ignorance, hate, envy, bigotry, discrimination. There is nothing stopping a prejudiced person from firing a polyamorous person, for example.

Thanks to the news source for running the interview! We need more people like Alyson to inform and educate people to increase awareness. Wherever you live, there are polyamorous people not far from you. You probably interact with someone who is polyamorous on a daily or near-daily basis.