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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To request mumsnet to add a 'polyamorous families' section under parenting?

868 replies

whycantwegoonasthree · 05/03/2016 15:28

There's every other kind of family type, pretty much, and polyamorous families have some unique joys and challenges that it would be nice to share and discuss.

Or maybe we're the last frontier and even MN aren't ready to go there.

Yet.

OP posts:
Lweji · 06/03/2016 18:17

Or move to Utah.

phequer · 06/03/2016 18:18

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whycantwegoonasthree · 06/03/2016 18:19

But I've been to see The Book of Mormon Lweji. Not sure they'd let me in.

OP posts:
Twinklestein · 06/03/2016 18:48

But I think this thread is not really about gauging appetite for a poly sub-board, it's actually an excuse for the OP to talk at length about a relatively new-found lifestyle that she is excited about. I think the OPs protestations that she is only answering queries as they arise is disingenuous, and her handwringing about more people needing to understand polyamory is patronising. Poly relationships have been around in many guises and societies for a long time. They are not difficult to understand

Exactly.

She's here for validation and attention. Why she needs it I'm not sure.

If she really wanted to get a bunch of PA posters together to request a MN board she could easily have done so. AIBU is not the place to do it.

FanFuckingTastic · 06/03/2016 19:17

There are certainly unique issues to parenting when you are poly. I found intolerance one of them.

If the category existed, I'd certainly pop in and have a look, maybe contribute if I felt brave, but in my personal experience people haven't been very kind or particularly understanding about it, and I tend to leave it out of any discussion unless it's particularly relevant, or with safe people, like close friends.

fusionconfusion · 06/03/2016 19:26

FFS about the "oh words are so shocking, I said fluid bonded because it's common in alternative circles". Well, quite. It does appear common.. but why on God's earth is it?

It is such a ridiculous thing to name or lionise shagging without condoms like it was something Symbolic and Meaningful to be aspired to, like blood brothers or the like. It is also the kind of thing that aids the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases in alternative communities and there's a whole other rant I could have about how it also tends to prioritise PIV. So stick that in your "oh dear, I'm so alternative, did my alternativeness offend your delicate sensibilities?" smug pipe and smoke it.

As for the "oh should MN close down then?". I have no issue with people talking about the actual circumstances of their lives if they want to do so.. but talking about the makey-uppy names for the way they lived their lives in a way that suggests they think it is so Cool and Alternative is a pain in the fucking arse.

Ohbehave1 · 06/03/2016 19:46

Oh fusionconfusion. Can you take your head out of your arse for one second.

Yes, unprotected sex is something to be aimed for. It's something that in loving relationships are not to be looked down upon.

Being poly is nothing to do with sleeping around. Having unprotected sex with many different partners is not what most people are looking for.

I guess you have not read most of the thread - if you had you would realise that it is all about in this case 3 people.

SoConfused15 · 06/03/2016 19:46

Fusionconfusion it's quite amazing how much you have read into a phrase that is not there. However there are some quite odd bits of poly jargon, some of which have come from the U.S. where the poly scene is more established and well known than here. "Fluid bonded" is not a term I use but if anything it just reflects that (responsible) people in open/poly r ships have to put a bit more thought into decisions about protected vs unprotected sex than serial monogamists.

fusionconfusion · 06/03/2016 20:07

"Unprotected sex is something to be aimed for" Hmm. Really? Why?

The idea that the only people who have to be concerned with their sexual health and/or STIs are people who are openly sleeping around is why STIs are really rampantly out of control in many parts of the world. There are very many straight, vanilla couples who have found themselves with gonorrheoa (now increasingly antibiotic resistant) and much worse because one of them wasn't as honest as they pretended - a very good friend of mine is infertile as a result.

Barrier-free sex is a decision ALL sexual partners need to take very seriously and for a variety of reasons. There are LOTS of reasons that making fluid exchange emotional and symbolic isn't a great idea for women. If individual partners make the decision because they prefer the sensations of barrier-free sex, more power to them - but I can see no reason to make it a "thing" and imbue it with so much meaning. Apparently that means my head is up my arse.

SoConfused15 · 06/03/2016 20:40

Fusion, you are reading into the term "fluid bonded" something that isn't there. It's not symbolic blah blah. It's just recognising that you use condoms with anyone you are not "fluid bonded" with. It's a practical thing.

Ohbehave1 · 06/03/2016 21:01

Fusionconfusion- I never said it wasn't a big decision. I just said its what most people prefer to aim for.

The point is that poly or straight makes no difference. The big thing is you are in a committed relationship.

If as many so called monogamous people took their sexual health seriously as those in alternative relationships would life be much better.

I know I wouldn't have unprotected sex with someone I didn't know or whose sexual health I wasn't happy with. I know I and my current partners are "clean" as we have all been tested. And I wouldn't have had unprotected sex with them if I hadn't seen their results.

DeoGratias · 06/03/2016 21:15

It would be a dull MN if people never posted interesting threads. There are lots of different ways to express your sexuality and live a life and women differ. Nothing wrong with anyone talking about it.

SuperSue77 · 06/03/2016 21:17

Can't help adding my own two pennies having read the thread all the way through. Despite being a mono hetrosexual with traditional views who finds the idea of a poly relationship miles from what I would ever want, I have been impressed with the way the OP has replied and it has really made me challenge my original view. It has made me realise that just as I feel so passionately about being in a mono relationship with my husband, other people will feel as passionately about being in a poly one, and therefore what is so wrong in that. I get the impression that OP and her DP and his OSO show a great deal of respect, love and care for each other, and that is something that is so vital in a relationship regardless of what we wish to label it.

I don't think OP is being dishonest in any way to her children, she is showing them consideration and love by wanting to make sure she handles the disclosure of her relationship situation in the best possible way. My DH and I haven't told our children everything, they don't know he was previously married for example. I don't feel it is dishonest, we just don't want to burden them with elements of our personal life until we feel it right.

Someone mentioned OP could try some Muslim sites for info about poly relationships, but I think given she said that this has nothing to do with religion I'm not sure that would be relevant personally.

OP - when I was expecting my number 2 I joined a "Due in ..." group which quickly moved onto its own Facebook group. After my 12 week scan when I discovered number 2 was also number 3 I got invited to a twin group in Facebook and I am still a member and find it a really supportive group. It is a closed group and people have to prove that they either have twins or are expecting twins to get accepted into the group. It started out as a more relaxed entry but we had a troll and so moved over to stricter entry criteria. You could not meet a more supportive and friendly bunch of ladies. Perhaps you could set up a similar group in Facebook, and people who have posted here in mn who seem genuine could join. They may know other people in poly relationships who might like to join and they know others etc and before you know it you could have a large online community, safe from trolls, of people who support and share experiences with each other.

I must say I don't find the original post attention seeking, just someone trying to reach out and find those people in a similar boat, like I have done with my online twin mummies group, with whom you can chat, ask advice, rant about your life without being judged or people simply not getting it (I would certainly not have a clue about the challenges of being a twin mum if I wasn't one, so I find other twin mums get what I'm going through more than other people).

The criticism over some of the language or acronyms is quite laughable given how much I have encountered since following a few posts on mn, it is littered with them, most people don't realise they're using them, so OP ought to be cut a bit of slack for that. I can't remember who posted about it being only mono hetro people who go on about sex all the time, but I thought it was a brilliant post! OP didn't kick off with the sex info, she got asked lots of questions, and I've seen the grief people get if they don't respond to these questions, yet seems you get grief if you do too! I hope you find a forum with supportive people who are in the same boat who can share their experiences and advice with you OP. Thank you also for this post on mn which has certainly challenged my thinking and made me more understanding and tolerant of others.

TheStoic · 06/03/2016 22:21

How would you feel if someone else was living in your house all day when you weren't there? I would feel violated.

Oh FFS Grin. I had been with my partner for nearly a year before my kids knew about him, and he stayed here whenever they were at their dad's.

They know him now, get along well, although he does not stay over while they are here.

Plenty of monogamous parents do things this way. So if it's NOT the relationship set up that's the problem - as you keep saying - what is?

She's here for validation and attention. Why she needs it I'm not sure.

Here's an idea if you really believe that....Don't give it to her?

bimandbam · 06/03/2016 23:08

Don't fink it's the OP here for validation and attention to be honest Hmm

Hope that mn does allow a poly bit OP. And I especially hope it has a special subsection for those who are 'fluid bonded' just to make a few more eyed twitch and a few more pearls be clutched.

ApplePaltrow · 07/03/2016 00:50

Agree with Twinklestein and Twirly that the OP posted on AIBU because she wanted to "educate" us all on her oh so speshul relationship setup.

It's kind of like that joke: "how can you tell someone is vegan?" "Don't worry... they'll tell you." Most poly people fall into that category with bell's on.

I guess poly is going to be the new trans, where every thread on feminism is derailed by questions about trans issues but now every relationship thread will be derailed by people insisting that talking about a monogamous relationship is "discrimination".

Also, if you want to know where all this labeling is going, read this article.

www.xojane.com/sex/why-labels-for-sexual-identities-are-useful-for-everyone

Millennial special snowflake syndrome x 100000000000.

LeaveMyWingsBehindMe · 07/03/2016 03:37

But I think this thread is not really about gauging appetite for a poly sub-board, it's actually an excuse for the OP to talk at length about a relatively new-found lifestyle that she is excited about. I think the OPs protestations that she is only answering queries as they arise is disingenuous, and her handwringing about more people needing to understand polyamory is patronising. Poly relationships have been around in many guises and societies for a long time. They are not difficult to understand.

I think the OP should stop being so self-absorbed, email site admin to ask, and then just get on with her life rather than sitting on this thread for over a day.

Spot on. As I said upthread, it all smacks a bit of her trying to educate us and spread the word because she and her type are all so cool and enlightened.

TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge · 07/03/2016 06:03

TheStoic that was staying over which is not the same as him living there (part time). Especially given the OP seems to think there is a huge difference between the two!

maybebabybee · 07/03/2016 06:17

Well I wouldn't choose to be in a poly relationship but I see nothing especially wrong with it - each to their own.

I don't see an issue with a poly board either, it would probably irritate me a lot less than the education board Grin

phequer · 07/03/2016 06:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fusionconfusion · 07/03/2016 07:26

SoConfused, it is a specialist term for something there are already many many adequate words to convey... And pretty much every time I have ever come across it or googled it, it is exactly the opposite of what you say here - it is considered an aim, a token of fidelity, a sign of exclusivity etc that is afforded to a particular sexual activity. To be honest, Google or no google, using a term like this and a language like this is specifically designed to give it an importance it wouldn't otherwise have.

And my point really was that everyone needs to take sexual health seriously and having special terms for PIV/ shagging without condoms that makes it seem speshul really isn't a great idea.

And it is fucking irritating beyond belief that any objection to the use of all this trendy overblown labelling of sexual practices is 'pearl clutching'. Pearl clutching my arse. Objection to blatant misogyny where PIV is real sex and semen is this beautiful fluid of love that makes a relationship real. Fuck that!

fusionconfusion · 07/03/2016 07:36

And also the chopping and changing.

It's like because finally, finally being gay in this very small corner of our world isn't something to be hidden (bearing in mind there are MANY areas of the world and indeed in this and all countries where gay marriage is legal saying you are gay/queer remains a life-threatening revelation) people have to find another name for difference and when that is more accepted, it needs to become more and more specifically labelled as in ApplePaltrow's link.

It really is just a bunch of meaningless words. Relationships will always have the potential to be messy, be they straight/gay/bi/poly and people to be excluded, be they straight/gay/bi/trans/questioning/poly and making up endless new terms and turning relationships/identity into ever smaller subcultures won't change that.

zippey · 07/03/2016 07:49

When I think of poly relationships I think of the likes of Hugh Hefner, male orientated religions and cults.

I think it's something which will be more prevalent in years to come, we have moved on a lot from the 50's/60's! I don't think it's necessarily a good thing but if people want it then they will do it!

Ohbehave1 · 07/03/2016 08:17

Fusionconfusion - you still miss the point. It's still people in committed relationships. Does it matter if it's 2, 3 or whatever. The point is they are not sleeping around.

So yes shagging without condoms that makes it seem speshul as you put it is something in a closed group that is not a bad thing as you think.

It's not condoning poor sexual health practices in any way at all - if all parties are committed to that relationship and non other then it is no more harmful than a mono relationship.

Lweji · 07/03/2016 08:25

When I think of poly relationships I think of the likes of Hugh Hefner, male orientated religions and cults

Clearly most of us not in PA relationships don't know what happens in them, but we can still listen and educate ourselves before passing judgement or assuming our ideas are what happens.