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Archive for the 'Polyamory Advice' Category

Are they polyamorous, or just sexually open?

Published by Serolynne on April 20, 2009 in Polyamory Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:

About six months ago my best friend and his wife let me know that she wanted to sleep with me, they didn’t set any ground rules before hand or make any requests about behavior it was mostly just a matter of “lets see where this leads”. Physically we’ve had a great deal of fun fairly often. Now, however, I’m starting to think that I’ve fallen in love with her and I’m not sure how to proceed. Up until now each next step in the relationship has been instigated by one of them, so it felt safe because I knew they’d discussed it before hand. The wife and I are really close friends, and spend a great deal of time together (in some weeks more time then she spends with her husband because he works really long hours). I’m just not sure if it’s something she’d be open to. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want her children or her relatives(who’re also her neighbors) to know about us. The subject of emotions has just never come up. So I guess what I’m asking is this : do you have any advice on how I could bring up the subject?

Signed,
Are they Poly?

Dear Are they Poly?

I don’t think it’s a matter of finding out if they’re specifically aligned with the term polyamory, as it is to check in with them at this point as to where things have gone in this experiment they asked you to join in. Six months is a long enough time to have this conversation with them, and share where each of you are coming from.  If you’re really close friends with them and you’ve been regularly sexual with them, hopefully bringing up the conversation will go smoother and more casually than your fear is intuiting it will be.

I know that it can be scary, especially the thought that they she may not reciprocate your feelings, or that bringing romantic love into the equation is more than they’re open to.  However, keeping your feelings to yourself will only eat away at you, and it’s time to find out just where they intend to head with this.  If it were me, I’d just ask them .. ‘So, how’s this arrangement of ours working for you guys?’

As a concern to ask yourself, assuming they are open to more of  loving relationship with you, would you be comfortable pursuing this sort of relationship knowing that you’ll always be doing so a bit in hiding?

Best wishes,

- Serolynne

Where did I go wrong, and how do I fix it?

Published by Serolynne on February 23, 2009 in Polyamory Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne

I am a 39 yr old professional straight guy. I have two kids and an ex-wife. We ended up in a divorce a year and a half ago due to a variety of reasons including me outgrowing her and different social viewpoints.  We were able to get back on friendly terms, and for the well being of our kids, decided to move our family back together again in one house - with us being co-parents.

While we were divorced, I stumbled across a local Polyamory group and have realized that I am polyamorous in my approach to life. I also started seeing another women who I’ve quite come to adore and love.   And then my ex-wife and I started becoming more loving towards each other - and have even started sharing a bedroom again.  I do love her.  I recently tried explaining to her that I am polyamorous and would like for her to know that I can love more than one person including her.  My girlfriend knows about my ex-wife and I, however, my ex-wife does not know about my girlfriend as she refuses to listen to me and says that she wants me to be hers only.

She even threatens to make my life a misery if she finds out that I have another love in my life. I currently have to meet my girlfriend discreetly for fear of my ex-wife finding out. To me this cheating and I don’t know how to correct the situation. I would really like to be honest to my ex-wife if only I could make my ex-wife understand how I feel deep inside and let her know that I will always love her as we share conversation,emotions, two growing kids, a house, cars, food, bedroom and my finances.

What have I done wrong and how can I correct it??

Regards,
Unhappy

Dear Unhappy,

So, where you could averted a lot of this is at the point when your wife switched from being a housemate to being a lover again.  You were already involved with your girlfriend, and you should have told your ex-wife about  her *before* you invited her back into your bedroom.   At this point, you could have let her know of the change in your life, how you’ve come to appreciate her again and value her.  It would have brought her into the process as a partner in this situation, and would have been the most ethical and honest way to handle things.

However, since you did not and allowed her to move back into the role of wife/partner in your life with no other information to the contrary - you essentially gave her the impression that you were entering back into a monogamous partnership with her again.  So it is completely understandable that she is now upset you’ve been considering polyamory.

As you are currently seeing your girlfriend discreetly behind your ex-wives back and against her known wishes - you are correct in your feeling that it is cheating and unethical.

I think the question you need ask yourself right now is..  what is your priority right now?

1) Rebuilding your family with your ex-wife:

What I’d recommend is that you quit seeing your girlfriend .. for now. While it’s unfair to your girlfriend, as she started seeing you while you were available - you have chosen to re-explore things with your ex-wife, life partner, mother of your children, etc.   If bringing your family back together again in a healthy way is important to you - then, it seems this is where your focus should be.  Trying to switch your relationship model over to polyamory at the same time may be too much to handle all at once.

However, I would highly recommend that in rebuilding your life with your ex-wife, that you specifically talk about polyamory and how you want to include it in your life together.. eventually.  You need to let her know about your girlfriend and that you are willing to put your relationship with your girlfriend on hold while you focus on her - be very upfront about having been seeing your girlfriend however.  Start things off with as much openness and honesty as possible, and build the trust and partnership together that you will need to make polyamory successful. You have a lot of trust rebuilding to accomplish here, and a family to focus on.   Don’t expect it to come quickly or easily.

While you technically could give your ex-wife an ultimatum of ‘If you want me, you have to accept that I have a girlfriend and I’m poly’ - I think you’re smart enough to know that this won’t be healthy long term, will lead to resentments and isn’t empowering your ex-wife to express herself, her concerns and be a partner with you on this exploration.   It is however, entirely within the realm of reason to not accept a partnership with your ex-wife unless she acknowledges your poly nature, and get her agreement to keep it as an active discussion in your relationship.  It is also reasonable to  agree to  focus on each other and the family for a time period (6 months, a year.. whatever makes sense), at which time - you want to start actively exploring poly.

I know that when you’ve just discovered poly, that it’s exciting and freeing and you just want to get out there and explore it. However, this is in direct conflict of the reality of your life.

If your ex-wife is not open to polamory at all with this approach, then you have a tough decision to make if you want to continue your romantic/life partnership relationship with your ex-wife - she may simply not be the partner for you in exploring poly. Or if your family is more important and you will have to consider putting poly on hold indefinitely.

2) Exploring Polyamory

If polyamory is more important to you.. I think you know that trying to force it on your ex-wife like you have been is not going to be a smooth path.  Transitioning a formerly mono relationship to poly takes time, practice, trust and a very stable foundation.   And your relationship with your ex-wife certainly does not sound like it’s at that point.  And adding in this element of seeing your girlfriend discreetly certainly adds complexity to the situation.

If you’re not willing to do the work with your ex-wife, or she is unwilling to even consider it - it may be time to set things straight with your ex-wife going forward. I’ve known of many couples raising kids and sharing households who go this route.. and are successful with it.  And sometimes, even in time, they come back together as life/romantic partners.   So, it can be done to be a co-parent and housemate with your ex-wife and explore poly - but those must be boundaries that you and your ex-wife come together to set.  It will take you both agreeing that what you want out of life and romantic relationship are very different and incompatible right now .. and it’s best to honor that to keep harmony in the household and family.   It won’t be easy, especially since there are genuine loving feelings between you.  Just keep in mind..  love is not enough.

Or it may be that you and your wife need to on your own for a while in separate households.

I hope this has given you some things to think about.

Best wishes,
- Serolynne

Privacy Concerns with Sharing Sexual History

Published by Serolynne on February 15, 2009 in Polyamory Advice and Safer Sex Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:

I’m curious about your thoughts regarding the privacy issues involved in sharing the names of previous partners. I can imagine in certain circumstances (especially if people are in the closet at work or something) that past or even current partners might prefer that you didn’t share their names with others. Do you list them by name, or is it more like “bisexual male” or something?

Signed,
-  Privacy Concerned

Dear Privacy Concerned:

I would say that since you’re only sharing the information with people you’re involved with or are considering a sexual relationship with, thus they are assumed to be trusted people - that privacy is not a huge concern. Especially since polyamory is based on openness and honesty with your partners. It’s not like a sexual history is being publicly broadcasted, a part of your online dating profiles or something you hand to everyone you meet - it’s generally a pretty screened group of individuals.

That being said, you probably should discuss this issue with anyone you’re currently in a relationship with and anyone you might consider - to make sure they’re on the same page. It might even be worthwhile checking in with past partners if you’re still in contact with them. And in some cases, especially those that integrate in more casual sexual encounters, it may make sense to refer to some sexual encounters more generally.

For my personal situation, if someone isn’t comfortable having their name on my spreadsheet for future potential partners to see.. then that’s one factor that would make them ‘not tall enough to ride this ride’, as I expect a very high degree of openness amongst my loved ones.  If someone changes their mind afterwards, I would be open to using just a first name and/or initials.  But in general my definition of openness extends to having at least the names of the people I’ve been with available to anyone considering a sexual relationship with me.

All my best,
- Serolynne

Awaiting my partner’s ok

Published by Serolynne on February 6, 2009 in Polyamory Advice and Sex Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:

My partner and I have been theoretically polyamorous for several years now, and while neither of us has had much sexual exploration outside of our own relationship - we have both been dating over the years.  I’ve now been involved with another woman for several months whom my partner knows, respects and seems to adore.   I really love this woman, and we’re both reaching a point where we’re ready to explore our sexual connection more fully.

My partner says she is open to my girlfriend and I becoming more sexual, but isn’t quite ready to take that next step in opening up our relationship.  We’ve all updated our STD testing, have shared our sexual histories and gotten to know each other partner’s rather well. All of the typical stop holds for concerns for moving forward sexually have been addressed, but yet my partner is not yet ready.  I totally respect her comfort levels, but I am also growing frustrating awaiting her to decide she’s ready.  Right now, my girlfriend and I have left it that we’re waiting for my partner to tell us she’s ready. 

Any advice on how we can handle this?

- Anxious awaiting

Dear Anxiously awaiting -

The first time of having your partner enter into a fully sexual relationship with someone else can be a big step, and it seems you’re doing the right things in moving at a speed that is respectful to all.

From what I’m reading, it sounds like that biggest frustration on your part is not necessarily that you’re not having a full sexual relationship with your girlfriend, but rather that there’s no timeline for your partner giving her go ahead?  If that’s correct, here’s a compromise that may serve you all better.

Ask your partner to work with you to come up with a series of dates in which you’ll agree to directly check-in on this subject.  Right now, you’re basically waiting for her to bring it up when she’s ready. This doesn’t give her a timeline in which to put effort towards exploring her own trepidations, and leaves you and your girlfriend a bit hanging.  If you have dates in which you’ve both agreed to re-explore the subject, this lets you let your guard down knowing that the issue will be discussed, and your partner can’t just put the subject off (which is easy to do with subject matter that might be scary).  Note that this is not telling her that she must make a decision by a certain date, just that you’re agreeing to keep it as an open topic that you’re both actively giving consideration to.

I wish you the best,

- Serolynne

A remedy for jealousy?

Published by Serolynne on November 29, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:

My husband and I recently got married although we’ve been together for almost 10 yrs. A little bit before we got married I started falling for a close female mutual friend of ours. Since we’ve been married my husband has now fallen for her and things have gotten heavy quickly. Recently I’ve been experiencing feelings of jealousy towards both of them and I feel bad because they’ve noticed and are now becoming uncomfortable with each other. Any suggestions on how to remedy the situation?

Thanks,
Jealous Partner

Dear Jealous Partner:

From the sounds of it, it doesn’t seem like the three of you are talking about things as openly and honestly as you could be.  My best suggestion would be for you to first of all have a conversation with your husband about his impressions of this new relationship and where he sees it going. I would then further encourage all three of you to sit down and talk very directly about the relationships and any feelings that are cropping up.

Aside from jealousy cropping up from internal insecurities, it can also come as a result of a fear of the unknown. I suspect in your case that you’re not getting enough information about what is going on from them, and they’re not hearing your concerns.  I would imagine that opening up the dialouge will go a long way to helping everyone feel more comfortable from better understanding of where your boundaries and trigger points are.

Best wishes,
- Serolynne

Anger over a STD from a partner’s lover

Published by Serolynne on June 14, 2008 in Polyamory Advice and Safer Sex Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:
I just found your website and have a question about how to deal with anger regarding getting an STD from my lover’s other girlfriend.

I don’t mind if he goes out with her, but the thought of them engaging in sex which is how the herpes was transmitted makes my skin crawl. I have a compromised immune system and now the herpes has created some painful outbreaks as well as some pelvic pain and dizziness and fatigue. It doesn’t seem fair that their pleasure caused me this pain. And that their herpes is not a problem, no pain. And she has not even had an outbreak in 8 years, yet she still transmitted it to my boy friend who then gave it to me, not knowing that he just got infected.

How can I deal with this? I hesitate to say anything about my feelings to my lover as his hot button is control and I don’t want him to think that I am trying to control his behavior with her.

Thanks for any insights on this subject.

Signed,
Pissed Off

Dear Pissed Off:

Getting a STD via a partner’s other lover can feel like getting the short end of the stick, and your feelings are valid.

But, you really do need to work on getting over it. It’s life, it’s not always fair and you both choose to be polyamorous and accepted the risks associated with multiple partners. You had every opportunity before they engaged in their first sexual encounter to exchange a sexual history and health disclosure to know she had HSV (Herpes), and to take proper precautions and set limitations to limit your risk, especially knowing your compromised immune system. Unless she lied to you about her status before they got involved, there’s really not much justification for asking them to stop in my opinion.

You’re already exposed by the conscious choice you’ve all made, and them continuing their sexual relationship does not have any further physical risks to you. So, any asking for them to stop really is coming from a controlling emotional space and not from a STD safety space.

However, I do highly encourage you to discuss your feelings with your lover and her, so that he can know what you’re feeling. It doesn’t have to come from a place of a control, but rather as a place of sharing. I think you’ll find that giving them the opportunity to acknowledge your feelings will help alleviate a lot of the slighted feelings you’re having.

- Serolynne

How to have ‘The Conversation’

Published by Serolynne on June 6, 2008 in Polyamory Advice and Safer Sex Advice. Closed

Dear Serolynne:

In the last 2 months I’ve met and hit it off with a really incredible guy who knows both me and my partner already, and understands and sees himself fitting into both our lives and is comfortable with that. Everyone is happy and excited about the situation.

What I’m now struggling with is the safe sex conversation that I have to have with my new partner. Condom usage for intercourse is a given, but my partner of 4 years and I are both feeling we should set a new standard for safer sex and get all parties tested if there is a possibility for a long term relationship. I know it needs to be done, but I don’t know how to propose STD testing before we engage any further. Any stories of the ways others have dealt with this situation would be appreciated, as would any advice.

Thank you,

Excited and Trying to be Responsible

Dear Excited:

Congratulations on the new partner, and for wanting to be responsible for your health.

I typically e-mail them my most current sexual health and history spreadsheet (click for a blank copy)and ask for theirs in return. Has worked like a charm every time - tells them right up how seriously I take the subject, and creates a clear opening for having the discussion and dealing with the topic in a straightforward way.

Another fun way I have heard of people handling this is making a date to go get tested together.

I figure.. if I can’t talk to someone about sex and sexual health with them, why would I want to have sex with them anyway?

Best wishes,

- Serolynne

I want to handfast with a couple.. but I’m already married

Published by Serolynne on April 21, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

Hello, I was thrilled to come across your website. It made my day. I have recently been asked to join a couple in Polyamory. (I hope I used that word correctly.) Being with this couple is so familiar yet I have never done this before. The same feeling happened when I visited your website. It was quick and it was in my face, Bam. My heart skipped a beat. You look so happy, so alive and still rising In life. I feel that way when I’m with my couple. My wife would never hear of this relationship. Should I live in fear or regret or maybe this could be the one that works. We love each other and the lady has asked me to handfast with her and her husband is so so happy about this. It’s so beautiful and I don’t want to miss my chance to truly experience life by opening up my heart to what may come. Or, am I just crazy ?

Yours truly,
Bob

Dear Bob..

Unless you have a pre-existing agreement with your wife that you are open to see other people, what you are doing is definitely not polyamory. And seeing as you say your wife would not hear of such a relationship, I am guessing your marriage is not built on a polyamorous foundation. And if you do have any sort of agreement to see other people, I am guessing that it is one of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’,and I would not presume that it was intended to include relationships as serious as handfasting with other people.

What it sounds like to me is that you are having is an affair. You are cheating. Yes, I understand it feels good and familiar and right, but it is not. Absolutely, under no circumstances, should you continue on with this couple until you have resolved things with your wife. Does this couple even know you’re married? If so, then why would they ask you to handfast with them knowing you are already committed to someone else, and she does not know and support your potential handfasting?

Either bring openness and honesty into your relationships - specifically with your wife, or proceed with the divorce you know you need to do so that you can move on with the life you want. Tell the couple you need to get your life in order before you can see them again, and then go get your life in order. Do not expect it to come together quickly. Bringing polyamory into your marriage, especially after you have been cheating, is a long and complicated road, and it may take years and lots of therapy. And you well know your own entanglements that would need to be undone should divorce be the answer.

You owe it to your wife and the commitment you made to her. You owe it to the couple, and the commitments you are feeling called to make to them. And most of all, you owe it to yourself to create the life that brings you happiness.

- Serolynne

We’re polyamorous, so why did he cheat?

Published by Serolynne on April 13, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. 1 Comment

Dear Serolynne:

My husband and I are in a polyamorous relationship. About a year ago, he started dating a woman and fell really in love with her.  However, she exhibited some personality traits I was not comfortable with and he and she agreed to back off of the relationship.  He and I were having some other relationship issues, so this was supposed to give us a chance to work on our own relationship.   However, he still kept quite in contact with her - exchanging hot chats, kisses when they saw each other and expressing their love for one another. Basically, they were in limbo between being broken up and being in relationship. 

I had suggested that they resume dating, and I would be willing to work through my emotions. However, they insisted on not doing so.

About a month ago, I discovered that they have been doing small things behind my back. There was a night of stolen kisses, long chats (where they removed the chat logs) and lots of text messages on their phones.  They were intentionally hiding these things from me, despite my previous willingness to support their relationship.  I just don’t understand why they would feel the need to sneak behind my back when they had my permission? 

Thanks,
- Cheated on

Dear Cheated On:

Despite popular assumption, it’s still entirely possible to cheat while in a polyamorous relationship. And while your husband may not have technically cheated, it certainly sounds like things were bordering on a full blown affair.

There’s some speculation that human’s have a natural tendency to cheat and lie, but I’m not sure I entirely buy into it.  Your husband may have some past relationship experiences that may show a pattern of intentionally sabatoging relationships. If so, counseling will probably be his best bet at helping break those patterns.

However, you may be dealing with someone who may not only have a tendency to sabatoge relationships, but also someone dealing with some very intense limerence. Limerence goes beyond the emotion of love. It’s those initial months to years of a relationship that can leave your stomach with butterflies and colors our perception of reality. It can also be unhealthy if not kept in check, and can lead to situations like what you find yourself in.

And the ironic part? Trying to stop it only feeds it. I suspect that in the process of your expressing your discomfort with the relationship, your husband has allowed that to serve as a barrier to building the relationship (despite your urging for them continue dating). To limerence, it is more exciting to have obstacles and challenges, so them being on the sly adds to the romance and energy. Very dangerous stuff in a polyamours context. And honestly, I don’t think there’s a thing you could have done differently to try to circumvent this - you gave them opportunity to resume, which would have been my advice for working through limerence.

Best wishes on the months ahead of you,
- Serolynne

Am I being courted?

Published by Serolynne on April 7, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. 1 Comment

Dear Serolynne:

I’m a single older gentleman. A couple of months ago I went on a cruise, and I met a delightful woman. She’s married and her husband was on the cruise with her. We hung out quite a bit and kept in touch afterwards, exchanging several nice e-mails. She and her husband have now invited me to come for a visit at their house later this spring.

While she hasn’t brought the subject of sex up, is it possible that she and her husband are inviting me to join them sexually during my visit? I’m curious about polyamory and group sex, so I’d be quite open to the idea. But I don’t want to offend them by asking if that’s not what they’re inviting me for.

Signed,
Courted?

Dear Courted:

Many people are not direct in their communication and intentions, which can make it very difficult to know exactly what to expect. It may be hard to tell if you are detecting a possible sexual openneness in her communications that is authentic, or if you are reading that through the filters of your curiosity of polyamory and group sex. I know that I would be uncomfortable traveling to visit someone not knowing what the intentions are of the visit.

It’s quite possible that this couple is not at all interested in group sexual situations, and simply finds your company pleasant and wishes to host you and show you their home. In that case, bringing up the subject directly could be offensive to them, and even potentially lose their friendship. My recommendation would be to start working the subject into conversations with your lady friend as you continue to get to know each other. Let her know that you’ve been researching about polyamory and considering if it is right for you. Perhaps talking to her about the people you’re meeting online for dating purposes and the difficulty of bringing the subject up, maybe even asking her advice on how to approach others about it?

Do it in a way that doesn’t convey that you’re looking to her and her husband for this purpose. This leaves the door open for her to reply in the affirmative if this is something they are interested in. If they’re not, then you can more properly set your expectations for your upcoming visit as being a strictly social call.

Safe travels,
- Serolynne

Swinging with the Same Couple Long Term

Published by Serolynne on March 24, 2008 in Polyamory Advice and Relationship Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

My husband and I have been swingers for a long while, although we typically tend to only become sexual with people we’ve established some sort of friendship with. However, in the past year or so we’ve pretty much been only swinging with one particular couple. They’re great people, and we enjoy doing so many things with them - movies, BBQs, hanging out as well as the sex. We’ve even found ourselves comfortable swapping partners with them even if not all of us are in the same room, which is a first for us.

I’ve recently found the term polyamory when searching around for information on having multiple long term partners, and I’m wondering - does the term apply to our situation?

Thanks,
Are we Poly?

Dear Are we Poly?

I think the most important thing is that all four of you are comfortable with the situation, and know what the expectations are and aren’t. There are a few things the can be distinguishing marks between polyamory and swinging, but there is a heck of a lot of grey area inbetween.

Some of the distinguishing characterteristics are:

  • Sex vs Relationships: In polyamory, you open yourself up to falling in LOVE with more than one person at a time. In swing, that’s usually pretty threatening to the core couple. Swing is generally more about recreational sex and polyamory is more about loving relationships. In swinging, friendship is usually the deepest emotional connection that a couple allows with others (and that isn’t a requirement for all swingers). Polyamory usually involves deeply emotional connections (love) with multiple people, and sex can (and usually is) an integral part of those relationships. So the question to ask yourself here.. are you open to loving them beyond friendship?
  • Monogamy vs. Non-monogamy: Swinging, in many ways is still monogamously based. Swinging is viewed as safe and non-threatening to the couple’s emotionally monogamous relationship. Polyamory usually isn’t approached from a couple-centric place. While couples may both date (even date the same person)… the relationships are viewed as individual relationships. In polyamory, you’re much more an individual than identified with your relationship structure. Would you comfortable if not only your husband had sex with the other women, but would you be ok with them going out on a romantic date on their own?
  • Discreet vs. “Out”: Swinging is usually a discreet activity that a couple does on the weekends - whereas polyamorous relationship are part of every day life, and not an activity done from time to time. Some questions that might help you clarify include: Do you want to introduce your couple to your other friends and family? Do have a desire to include them in major life events (weddings, funerals, company picnics, etc.)? Would you be there for them if they had a major crisis? Do you desire putting a photo of them on your desk at work?

You will probably find that there may not be clear answers to all of the above, and that you are currently somewhere in the grey zone. And in the end, it really doesn’t matter what you call it - as long as everyone is having fun, is comfortable, is on the same page and is enjoying themselves. There’s no one handing out poly cards, afterall. And one is not better than the other.

- Serolynne

STD Concerns as an Excuse

Published by Serolynne on March 17, 2008 in Polyamory Advice and Safer Sex Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

My wife and I are both exploring polyamory, however she tends to be a bit more jealous and insecure. We’re both quite concerned about STDs and always use protection and proceed cautiously when having sexual encounters with others. I’m seeing a new woman, and I’d really like to become more involved with her. But my partner is not responding very well to it. I feel she’s using risks of STDs to thwart my relationship instead of dealing with any jealousy she might be experiencing. How do I get my partner to let me have sex with my new love interest?

- Ready to get it on

Dear Ready to get it on :

STDs are a reality that all sexually active folks have to contend with. You didn’t mention how long you’ve been seeing this new woman, but maybe it’s going too fast for your wife to come up to speed with. Have they met and had the opportunity to spend time getting to know each other? By allowing your wife to become comfortable with your new sweetie, you give them both a chance to build respect for each other. Also, have you done a full sexual health and history exchange with this new potential partner? Having real risk factors to evaluate may be helpful for all involved.

Your wife may also be feeling that this new woman does present increased risk factors sexually. While STD concerns shouldn’t be used to cover up dealing with jealousy, they are a serious issue to address upfront. Your wife has a responsibilty to herself to protect her health and know what risks she’s taking on. However, it is also possible that little red and yellow flags of jealousy are cropping up as STD concerns. Use this opportunity to fully discuss any concerns your wife has about this new potential sweetie, and you may find that giving her space to express her concerns goes a long way to bridging the unknown.

Best wishes,
- Serolynne

Finding Polyamorous People to Date

Published by Serolynne on March 4, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

After doing a lot of research and soul searching, I’ve decided that I’m polyamorous by nature and am ready to embrace that. Now what? How do I find people do date?  Is it best to date other people who are polyamorous, or to just date ‘normal’ people and hope they’ll be ok with it?

Thanks,
- New to Poly

Dear New to Poly,

Congratulations on taking the time to figure out if polyamory is for you before getting involved with people.  As a general rule of thumb, it tends to be easiest to date other folks who are already inclined towards non-monogamous relationship models. But, that’s not to say that you won’t find some people who are open to the idea but just haven’t been exposed to it being a feasible path. And, even if you did find people who identify as polyamorous already, that’s not to say that they will be wanting to practice it in the same ways you might.  With any relationship, you’ll still have to figure things out and find what works for all involved.

As far as some ways of finding folks who may be more inclined towards polyamory than others, try these tips:

  • Some online dating sites are open to polyamory. They include:
  • Finding your local polyamory discussion, social and/or support group - google for ‘polyamory’ and nearby large cities to you to find them. Check out YahooGroups, GoogleGroups and Meetup.com to see if there are groups near you. Interacting with others in your area who are exploring polyamory is a great way to make new friends, meet others on similar paths and even potentially find people to date. Just a word of caution - don’t join group with only the intention of dating people in it.
  • Attend regional and national polyamory conferences. All throughout the year there are gatherings of polyamorous folks in major cities for weekend long conferences and retreats. Some are casual campouts, others are larger scale hotel based conferences. These are great opportunities to learn more about polyamory and meet others walking this path.
  • Do the things you love doing. As with dating in general, you are more likely to find people you have common interests with by doing the things you enjoy doing. Just be upfront that you’re polyamorous before things get too serious if you find people you want to date.
  • Be as ‘out’ as you can about being polyamorous.  Since not everyone can be out - whether it be job or family concerns, the more out you are the more likely people who are interested in polyamory will come to you. Include polyamory as a keyword on any online profiles you have, let friends know that you’re poly and dating, etc.  You don’t have to wear the t-shirt, but include it as a casual part about you as you would anything else.

Best wishes on your dating path,
- Serolynne

Communicating Needs and Being Compassionate

Published by Serolynne on February 16, 2008 in Polyamory Advice and Relationship Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

One of my sweeties, who I don’t live near, is going through a tough time. She has a partner that she lives with who is providing a lot of her day to day to support. But today she got angry with me for not offering up more support than I have. I admit, I haven’t been reaching out much, but then again - she’s never asked me to either. I don’t feel she has a right to be as upset with me as she is considering she’s not been expressing her needs to me. What do you think, shouldn’t the poly mantra of ‘Communicate! Communicate! Communicate!’ apply here?

Thanks,
- Wrongly Accused

Dear Wrongly Accused,

In relationships, it is extremely important to be able to express your needs and expectations to your partner(s)/sweeties/friends. That’s general Communication 101 stuff there, and an excellent recipe for taking responsibility of making sure your needs are met.

But on the flip side, it’s also important to recognize that when someone else is in need that it is the least likely time that they are able to express their needs in rational ways. Being compassionate to that, and using your knowledge of them to pro-actively provide is also important. And at the very least, don’t reprimand them for not expressing their needs as your defense for why you’ve been neglectful towards them.

Sometimes they may not even be in a mind space to realize that they’d appreciate some additional support from you, never mind communicate that to you. And in my opinion, that’s one of the benefits of relationships - is being in the unique position to recognize when your sweetie is in that space, and being more pro-active than usual to offer up support. Isn’t it more pleasant to get thanks for giving unexpected support, than being on the receiving end of disappointment for having not?

Best wishes,
- Serolynne

Two Boyfriends.. Now What?

Published by Serolynne on February 11, 2008 in Polyamory Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

The situation is this: I seem to have two boyfriends. I have heard of polyamory, and am interested in it, but I still have questions.

The first one is a businessman, who has recently been divorced; I am being a friend to him in that I am letting him talk through the various problems he’s having. I’m letting him treat me as a friend with benefits, meaning that I am willing to sleep with him. I have feelings for him and we have made tentative plans for the future.

The second one is a retired Marine who really likes me; I really like him too. Due to some medical problems that he doesn’t want to saddle me with, he is encouraging me to look toward the businessman. He is remaining very much a part of my life, and has become my best friend. He agrees to be my boy-friend, even though he wants me to find someone else, like the businessman.

Both men know about the other, and actually they are both sort-of glad that the other is there, which is kind-of odd, but alright. I mean to keep them both in my life, but I don’t really know how to go about doing that, seeing as there aren’t all that many examples, at least that I can think of, of polyamorous relationships. Do you have any suggestions?

- Tenatively exploring Poly

Dear Tentatively:

This actually sounds like a great foundation for the start of an intentionally polyamorous relationship. You’re close with both men, they know about each other and neither one of them is demanding that you be exclusive with them. In fact, it’s sounding like they appreciate the situation.

I would recommend your next step is to talk with each of them individually, and make sure they are indeed comfortable with you intentionally continuing to be involved with both of them. Some questions to specifically ask each of them include:

  • How much information does each want to know about the other, and your relationship with them?
  • How much information is each comfortable with you sharing with the other?
  • How much time and energy does each want from you?
  • Do they have any desire in being in contact directly with each other?
  • Do either of them have any requests for the safer sex practices you adhere to?
  • Are either of them seeing, or intending to see, other people?


Make sure that they both know that you are willing to talk about any of the concerns they have, and that you understand that there may be concerns or jealous reactions in the future.

As far as finding other resources for seeing how polyamorous relationships work, there are lots of resources available. Take a visit to Loving More at www.lovemore.com for a magazine dedicated to the subject, as well as a full bookstore. Googling around for word ‘polyamory’ will also bring you to many websites of individuals, couples, triads, etc. practicing polyamory that you can learn from. You’ll likely find more information than you were anticipating.

Best wishes on your journey!
- Serolynne

Flirting on a poly date

Published by Serolynne on December 23, 2007 in Polyamory Advice. 0 Comments

Dear Serolynne:

Last evening I was on a date with a new guy I’ve been seeing. I’ve been exploring polyamory for a couple of years, and he’s relatively new to it. The date was at a concert, in which some other friends of mine attended, who are also polyamorous. Throughout the evening, some of the other poly women friends of mine where hitting on my date.. right in front of me! Isn’t this rude? Am I right to be upset over this?

Thanks,

Jealous Date

Dear Jealous Date:

Just because one identifies as polyamorous, does not mean they are fair game for flirting. And while your friends may have been crossing the line a bit to flirt with your date without checking in with you first to see if it was ok - I do want to point out that flirting is a two way street. Your friends would not have kept flirting with your date if he was not receptive and responding to it. So please don’t put all of the blame on your friends in this case - your date had every opportunity to acknowledge the attention in a way that did not encourage more of it .

Some setting of intentions before the date probably would have gone a long way to setting the expectations properly. I recommend on future dates to discuss beforehand if the date is to be focused on each other, or if flirting with others you might be encountering is acceptable. A useful tool is to also set a signal of some sort that either of you can trigger if things get uncomfortable so that you can gracefully refocus the attention back on each other. For instance, squeezing the shoulder might indicate that you’re uncomfortable and would appreciate that whatever conversation your date is involved in be brought to a close and the focus back to you. I’ve often found that just setting these intentions of being my date’s priority for the night/event is usually enough to alleviate any uncomfortable moments, and I don’t actually have to instigate a shoulder squeeze.

And of course, if you really do want the date to be focused on just you and your date - go somewhere where you won’t be socializing with your friends.

- Serolynne