Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: ROMANTICIZING COHOUSING

[Michael McIntyre (michael]

On Wed, 20 Oct 1999 Deb Smyre wrote: 

> ...When I think of polyamory, I think of people "sleeping around" 
> with a fancy name attached to their behavior...    

How about Responsible non-monogamy or poly-fidelity as more accurate
names? While certainly not for the majority of folks in our society,
these are a far cry from the negative 60s stereotypes put forward by
Deb. They work well for some people and, I think, offer insights for
everyone into more honest communication and human relationships (which
are at the core of a better society). On the flip side, I think it could
be argued that monogomy as practice and dogma has resulted in a greater
number (ratio?) of unhappy relationships than its alternatives. 

On Tue, 19 Oct 1999 Stuart Staniford-Chen wrote:

> I suppose if it becomes more widespread, polyfolk will be
> out there challenging such statements, and eventually it won't 
> be acceptable to display the prejudice.

Let's not simply leave it to the subjects of prejudice to defend
themselves. I would hope cohousing communities are, in general,
open-minded enough to question the dominant paradigm, honor diversity,
and to respect consenting adults's private lifestyle and sexual choices
and orientations in both the public and private arenas.

michael mcintyre, sunward coho