Remember, Poly Folks: Art is Ahead of Society
I often wonder about where the state of polyamory is in society. Will there ever be a watershed moment where some high-profile, multi-millionaire corporate folks declare that their success primarily hinges on their non-monogamous partnership style? Not that Caitlyn Jenner made everything perfect for generations of transgender folks who had never had a public representative, but she still shed light on a truth of humanity that had gone unseen and unknown for far too long. I personally was happy but not altered by it, since I loved and sought to learn about transgender sexual truth since the Eddie Murphy scandal of the early 90’s. But there are so many levels and realities that we collectively have not experienced or learned, and I think the ephemeral nature of the internet, TV, movies and music, or just popular culture in general, has the masses a bit hoodwinked on how much evolutionary progress we’ve made in accepting non-mongamous lifestyles of all kinds in this wild world of ours.
There’s a number of game changers at play, sure. Orange is the New Black is a noteworthy step forward with Laverne Cox being prominently featured on the show. And that show Transparent, with Jeffrey Tambor. That’s a new idea. Plus there’s Modern Family with Ed O’Neill and Sofia Vergara, with lots of gay, lesbian and untraditional family structures at play. There’s LOTS of musicians, supermodels, actors, movie directors, bloggers, a few athletes, and even a new judge in Manitoba who all don’t identify with the traditional gender binary or who claim to be monogamous. So, the traditional cisgendered, heteronormative patriarchal standard of relationship is not really the standard of reality that we’re all forced to live up to as much as we used to… but, is it still okay to be POLY?
Do you think you could declare your desire to your parents to NOT marry in a traditional monogamous ceremony, and have them be perfectly cool with it?
Do you have the freedom to talk about your polyamorous sexual adventures with all your co-workers, loudly and at any time of the day?
Do you have the space to be accepted and embraced by your peer group and your general community for the desires and passions you have the heart to explore courageously?
I hope so, but I know it’s not the case for everyone.
But, if someone gets married, then supposedly EVERYONE is happy for them, and it’s something they don’t have to hide from anyone.
I want to thank the general arts community in the world for each and every step forward taken in the modern creative idea spaces, that helps open people’s minds to things like polyamory, BDSM and transexuality.
We have made impressive progress in the last few years… but there is SO MUCH FURTHER TO GO!
Trust me.
In love,
Addi Stewart
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