Polyamory

For the last two decades, my sexual-emotional relationships have happened within what has come to be known as non-monogamy, a field in which I am an activist, theorist, consultant and who knows what else. And despite all that, and despite dedicating body, mind, emotional networks and a great deal of my energy to the matter, I still come up against repeated difficulties in trying to sustain relationships that are plural and healthy for everybody involved. And it’s not just me. The same thing happens to other people in the social circles I’m involved in: anguish, guilt, jealousy, lack of comprehension by those around us… all the psychological horrors get going.
It’s not me and it’s not us: it’s the system.

Although consensual non-monogamies have grown in exposure and popularity among both the public and academics, they remain largely marginalized and stigmatized. While some research has examined individuals’ perceptions of non-monogamies as a whole, few have focused specifically on perceptions of polyamory. The aim of this study was to explore and render explicit such attitudes and perceptions using an inductive approach to research. Online unsolicited narratives were sought for the purpose of this study. A total of 482 comments posted in response to three articles on the topic of polyamory were collected and analyzed using thematic analysis. Five overarching themes were identified: polyamory as 1) valid and beneficial; 2) unsustainable; 3) perverse, amoral, and unappealing; 4) acceptable; and 5) deficient. The findings provide insight on individuals’ reactions to polyamorous relationships and beliefs surrounding monogamy, and are further discussed in light of previous research on stigma, and of contemporary discourses on relationships, love, and commitment.

Consensual non-monogamy (CNM) refers to romantic relationships in which all partners agree to engage in sexual, romantic and/or emotional relationships with others. Within the general framework of CNM, subtypes of relationships differ in the extent to which partners intend for love and emotional involvement to be a part of their multiple relationships (that is, some relationships may prioritise love over sex with multiple partners, or vice versa). The present study examined whether individuals were more likely to stigmatise relationships that: (i) focus on loving more than one person (which is characteristic of polyamory), (ii) focus on having sex without love (which is characteristic of swinging lifestyles), or (iii) involve having sex without love without a partner's participation (which is characteristic of open relationships). In the present research, participants were assigned to read a definition of one of the three CNM relationship types (i.e. a swinging, polyamorous or open relationship) and to indicate their attitudes towards individuals who participate in those relationships. Results show that swingers were overwhelmingly perceived more negatively (e.g. less responsible) than individuals in polyamorous relationships and that people in open relationships were sometimes perceived more negatively (e.g. less moral) than people in polyamorous relationships. Overall, findings suggest that people are more uncomfortable with the idea of strictly sexual relationships (i.e. swinging relationships) than relationships involving multiple romantic/emotional attachments (i.e. polyamorous relationships).

Polyamory is the practice of having multiple emotionally close relationships that may or may not be sexual. Research concerning polyamory has just begun to determine how relationships among partners in polyamorous arrangements may vary. Most of the research assessing perceptions of polyamorous partners has focused on primary-secondary configurations; however, non-hierarchical configurations exist and can involve having multiple primary partners or having only non-primary partners. The current research is the first to examine perceptions of partners and relationship quality in various polyamorous configurations and compares results for each configuration to monogamous partners. Results from online convenience samples suggest that co-primary and non-primary configurations are common among polyamorous participants, with approximately 38% identifying with one of these configurations in 2013 and 55% in 2017. Furthermore, our results suggest that while relationships with partners in co-primary and non-primary structures still differ in some ways (e.g., investment, acceptance, secrecy, time spent having sex), they are closer to their ideals on several psychologically meaningful indicators of relationship quality (e.g., commitment and satisfaction). In other words, despite rejecting hierarchical primary-secondary labels, many of the same relationship qualities differ systematically among partners in non-hierarchical relationships. Furthermore, pseudo-primary partners and primary partners in these relationships are more comparable to monogamous partners than they are to secondary partners. We discuss how these results inform our understanding of polyamorous and monogamous relationships and suggest future directions based on these findings.

Contemporary Paganism’s emphasis on sacred story and narrative has led to an interdependent relationship with popular media. Pagans draw inspiration from fiction and also bring their practices to life in popular novels. Robert Heinlein’s 1961 Stranger in a Strange Land has had a major impact on the practice of ethical nonmonogamy in the Pagan community, an impact that is reflected in Starhawk’s 1993 The Fifth Sacred Thing. Along with liturgical echoes from Stranger, Starhawk’s novel contains sacred sex practices similar to those Heinlein describes. Unlike Heinlein, however, Starhawk is writing from life; The Fifth Sacred Thing reflects the developing real-life norms of her San Francisco-based Pagan community. Both novels also follow the generic conventions of the American utopian novel, a literary form that has influenced communal and millennial movements of the past. Together, Heinlein and Starhawk’s novels demonstrate how fiction can inspire religious practice that then appears again in fiction.

Liebster Sascha und alle Anderen,
Hier meine subjektiven Auszüge,(4 Seiten) aus:
PIEPER, MARIANNE & BAUER, ROBIN: Polyamorie:...Begehren als transformative Kraft?
IN: Journal für Psychologie, Jg. 22(2014), Ausgabe 1 (35 Seiten)
und aus: Gregoratto, Frederica: Elf Thesen zur Polyamorie IN: Philosophie Magazin Nr. 04/2021 (4 Seiten)

SASCHA (BECK), YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO  ME
I NEED YOU TO SURVIVE and TO HEAL MY WOUNDS FOR REAL JOY

DIR sendet vratlichst
LOVE and NEED

YOUR
Ravi

Paardynamik
Methodenspezifische und methodenübergreifende Beiträge zur Psychotherapie im Paar- und Einzelsetting

2018
von Renate Hutterer-Krisch, Gabriele Rass-Hubinek bei facultas
ISBN: 978-3-7089-1685-9

Kapitel über Polyamorie;

Im Mainstream der akademischen Psychologie wird das Konzept der monogamen Zweierbeziehung selten in Frage gestellt. Die akademische Psychologie zeigt einen Bias, indem sie zumeist Monogamie als Inbegriff einer gesunden und erfolgrei- chen Beziehungskultur darstellt. Auch der Hauptstrom der Psychotherapie repro- duziert diese normativen Strukturen, indem sie nicht-monogame Beziehungen als pathologisch und dysfunktional portraitiert. Diese Abhandlung möchte dies- bezüglich eine Lücke schließen und sieht sich als Beitrag zur Herstellung von akademischer Öffentlichkeit für Menschen, die Polyamorie leben. Die folgende Biographiestudie intendiert eine Veränderung in der Sichtweise von nicht-mono- gamen Beziehungskulturen, indem sie anregt, diese Beziehungsdynamiken aus einem Blickfeld jenseits von Heteromononormativität zu beobachten.

If I were a butterfly, I'd thank you, Lord, for giving me wings. And if I were a bird in a tree, I'd thank you, Lord, that I could sing. And if I were a fish in the sea, I'd wiggle my tail, and I'd giggle with glee, But I'd just thank you, Father, for making me me! 'Cause you gave me a heart, And you gave me a smile You gave me Jesus, And you made me your child. And I just thank you, Father, for making me Me!

Polyamory. Loving More than One A biographical portrait of non-monogamous relationship cultures In the mainstream of academic Psychology, the concept of the monogamous relationship between two people is rarely called into question. The work at hand will fill a gap in this respect and should be understood as a contribution toward establishing academic openness to the concerns of polyamorous human beings. Interviews were conducted over Skype as the method of compiling data and their phenomenological premises as well as those of interaction and communication theories were reconstructed according to the narrative data analysis of Schutze (1983). The biographies of one woman and one man stand in the forefront. It holds true for both interview partners that they oriented themselves toward a monogamous relationship model and processed the same during biographically significant phases of their early adulthoods. In both cases – more noticeably in the man’s than the woman’s – the biographical...

John's case it is a good and clear example of a liminal hotspot because it shows a transitional state between monogamous relationships to an ideal polyamorous relationship. The conversation shows the process that John had to live, an ambiguous and transitional process. Even though In every step of the conversation we may want John to end up in a happy polyamorous relationship, the situation radically changes with each message. We can see a highly emotional situation in this case. The empirical material for this topic is based on:

La construcción postmoderna del poliamor choca frontalmente con el imaginario racista según el cual la monogamia es una forma superior de relación respecto a la poligamia o a los matrimonios grupales. Para desmarcarse de esta confusión con la alteridad subalternizada, los grupos poliamorosos han generado una urgencia para aclarar que "los malos" son los otros.

based on salient points of queer theory, including mimetic desire, homosexual panic, the apparitional lesbian, the triangularity of desire and the figure of two-in-one. These theories are adapted and expanded to explain the bisexual and polyamorous practices of love observed in the film, including compersion or the ability to love those who love our lovers. The three main characters, a butch lesbian from Paris, a bisexual woman from Spain and her philandering husband from Provence, intertwine their lives as they learn to be in touch with themselves, fair to each other and inclusive. The article explains how these practices are conducive of the "plural happiness" observed at the film's concluson, where the three protagonists form a bi and poly triad with the bi woman in the middle and an expanded family that includes three parents and their three children. The author argues that the bi and poly practices of love observed in the film are good for the planet because they are conducive of ecological and emotional sustainability.

Monogamism is the dominant belief that the only legitimate relational orientation is being monogamous & only acceptable relationship form is that of monogamy. Trainings conducted focused on reducing monogamism, & clinically working with relational orientation minorities & members of multi-partnered relationship configurations. Using the Monogamism Measure: Awareness, Knowledge, & Skills competence of participants’ was measured pre-post training. Results indicate statistically significant increases in awareness, knowledge, & skills after training.

The landscape of relationships, gender, and sexuality continues to change rapidly across the world. This includes recognition of relationship styles such as polyamory, in which individuals have multiple romantic relationships with the knowledge and consent of all involved. In the academic literature on polyamory, social work perspectives are noticeably absent. Thus, a scoping review concerning social work, counselling, and polyamory was conducted to assess knowledge from the last decade and to contribute to the field. The themes that arose were the need for clinicians to examine their biases toward monogamy
and polyamory, including perceptions of insecure attachment and a lack of commitment in polyamorous relationships.The literature also recognizes that polyamorous individuals often have fluid identities and sexual orientations. Finally, social workers have a duty to create a
safe environment for polyamorous clients because of widespread societal stigma. As social work values client self-determination and examination of societal discourses, the field would benefit from further research into polyamory; this article is just the beginning.

Through the use of both quantitative and qualitative data from Australian and US research, this paper is an initial exploration of polyamorous parenting, particularly in relation to schooling and negotiating the
implications of heteronormative monogamy on their children’s lives. The paper calls for more research and support of polyamorous families as these families are still largely invisible and falling ‘between the cracks’
of heteronormative monogamous nuclear families and the increasingly visible lesbian and gay families.
Keywords: discrimination, heterosexism, polyamorous parenting, schooling.

The self-reports of polyamorous clients regarding therapeutic experiences raise concerns for the counseling field. Many poly individuals are not receiving quality mental health care or relationship counseling because of valid fears regarding professional bias and condemnation of their lifestyle choices. The unique issues and concerns of polyamorous clients is an emerging interest in the mental health field and counselors have an ethical obligation to understand, explore, and address the unique needs of this population.

Polyamory is a constantly expanding and intersecting subject that is flooding media and academia. Though growing in popularity, within the higher education institutions there is a research void. Th e lives and experiences of college students that identify as polyamorous are relatively unknown. “Alternative Lifestyles and the Black American HBCU Student: Future Research Considerations for a Growing Community” is a composition focused on presenting and exploring research methods to approach the void.

Set in today’s multi-cultural, multi-sexual Australia, Love You Two is Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli’s first novel, about a young woman’s coming-of-age when life, love and family aren’t what anyone said they’d be. Addressing bisexuality in men, polyamorous parents and intergenerational relations in migrant families, Love You Two was inspired by Maria Pallotta-Chiarolli’s fifteen years of community work and academic research and publishing in sexual, family and cultural diversity in Australia, with an emphasis on adults and adolescents, and parents and their children. She says, ‘There were lots of people I’d met, events I’d witnessed, that just hung around in my head and heart begging to be taken out, aired and affirmed. I wanted to write a comforting, funny, challenging and realistic book for young people and the adults in their lives who love “differently”, whose families are misunderstood, misrepresented, and hidden, so that they could find themselves and know that what matters is how people love, not who they love.’

This article analyses how monogamy, polyamory and other forms of non-monogamy are displayed, interpreted and debated among LGBT groups. Is there a defence of affective and sexual multiplicity or does an endorsement of monogamy predominate, in order to claim greater legitimacy? The study was conducted between 2012 and 2017, based on ethnographic research carried out with virtual LGBT groups. I argue that there is no consensus that monogamy is an oppressive norm analogous to heteronormativity among lesbians, gays, and bisexuals, nor that polyamory is their ideal model for overcoming it. Through this study, I contribute to the understanding of the moral conflicts developed in the field of 'sexual politics' in contemporary Brazil.

El creciente interés sobre las relaciones no monógamas, los recientes estudios que muestran la prevalencia de la infidelidad en pareja y la notable idealización de los mitos románticos que provocan relaciones de posesión y control, hacen que sea pertinente la investigación sobre orientaciones relacionales diferentes a la monogamia, ya que puede no ser una opción válida para todo el mundo a pesar de ser la orientación relacional por excelencia, aceptada socialmente como "natural" y "normal". En el presente estudio se investiga sobre el poliamor en profundidad, con el principal objetivo de conocer el concepto y las características de este tipo de relaciones y cómo llevan a cabo la gestión emocional. Para ello, realizamos una investigación de tipo cualitativa a través de una serie de entrevistas en profundidad a personas que practican el poliamor. Los resultados obtenidos muestran que el concepto de poliamor es amplio y diverso, aunque, a pesar de ello, tiene una serie de elementos clave comunes, como el compromiso, la comunicación y la sinceridad.

Undergrad research paper about the stigma, myths, and realities affecting children in polyamorous families. One of the common concerns is that consensual non-monogamy is harmful to children, but that is far from the truth. In fact, as stated in this paper, there may be benefits to polyamory that monogamy does not afford. The harms that are often cited when speaking about polyamory, or even polygamy, are not inherent to those structures and not unique to them, however the benefits seem to be. Polyamory may not necessarily be better for raising healthy children, but there are reasons to think polyamory is at least as good as our “ideal” of monogamy.

This M.A. thesis develops a black feminist approach to the study of non/monogamy, connecting conversations in black feminist thought, black sexuality studies, and consensual nonmonogamy (CNM) studies. Scholarship in CNM studies examines compulsory monogamy as a system of regulation that favors two-partner intimate relationships, but often does not recognize compulsory monogamy’s role within larger racial projects. Without sustained engagement with work on racialized sexuality, CNM studies offers little challenge to the racial-sexual order underlying compulsions toward monogamy, and thus has limited applications in the context of black populations. However, literature on black sexuality helps illuminate varied dimensions of compulsion as we work to consider nonmonogamy beyond a universalized white subject.

In this thesis, I center black feminist analyses of racialized sexuality to highlight how racialized sexual regulation in the US constitutes a form of “compulsory non/monogamy,” a system of simultaneous compulsion toward and disruption of (more legibly) monogamous and heteronormative forms of intimacy. I focus especially on the work of Adrienne Davis, Hortense Spillers, and Dorothy Roberts, whose work offers foundational analyses of race, reproduction, and domination; and L.H. Stallings, whose theorization of “funk” continues foundational black and feminist scholarship in less-explored directions on the study of black eroticism. Contextualizing these scholars’ work with other literature on black sexuality, I demonstrate how black feminist thought reveals historical dynamics of “compulsory non/monogamy,” offering intersectional analysis of power that redefines the terms and terrain of “consensual nonmonogamy”—moving us toward a radical, anti-racist critique of compulsory forms of both monogamy and nonmonogamy.

Identities have an advantage and a disadvantage, all rolled into one: it is through identity that one can engage in identity politics and the reclaiming of rights and recognition; but it is also through them that one becomes a subject, and thus becomes subjected to normalization. The ability to engage in identity politics is the ability to exert power, but also the unavoidability of having power being exerted upon those who do so.

While past studies have measured several indicators of relationship quality in relation to types of relationship agreement, most have not included polyamorous relationships, and have almost exclusively included samples of gay men. The purpose of this study was to address this gap by examining five dimensions of relationship quality and eight dimensions of relationship equity in a sexually diverse Canadian sample (N = 3463) across three types of relationship agreements (monogamous, open, and polyamorous). The data were collected online as part of a larger study. In order to compare relationship types on relationship dimensions, MANCOVAs were computed using age, relationship duration, cohabitation status, sex, sexual orientation, and an interaction term of sex and sexual orientation as control variables. High scores of relationship quality and equity were reported by the overall sample, and scores on all scales did not significantly differ by types of relationship agreement. Overall, these results strongly suggest that these types of relationship agreements are equally healthy viable options.

Jealousy in human relationships has been shown (Buss, et al., 1992) to be consistently dimorphic, with females tending to exhibit more jealousy about emotional infidelity and males tending to exhibit more jealousy about sexual infidelity. The evolutionary hypothesis offered to explain this dimorphism states, generally speaking, that emotions are behaviors that are developed and reinforced over time to adapt to environmental challenges. Jealousy, then, is evolutionarily framed as an adaptation to to meet the challenges of resource scarcity and paternity. The specifically non-jealous or anti-jealousy stance of polyamorous relationships is then considered, and it is speculated that this emerging non-jealous tendency in a minority of human relationships could be a novel evolutionary adaptation rather than a mere counter-evolutionary anomaly or outlier. In support of this speculation, I propose to test the hypothesis that jealousy-related attitudes and behaviors are consistently more frequent in monogamous as opposed to polyamorous individuals, and that conversely, specific instances of non-jealous attitudes and behaviors will be less frequent in monogamous individuals. A simple forced-choice survey design is proposed, and the possible implications of significant results is discussed.

Is love best when it is fresh? For many, the answer is a resounding "yes." The intense experiences that characterize new love are impossible to replicate, leading us to reflect on these moments with longing and pursue the thrill offered by these beginnings. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev takes these experiences seriously, but he's also here to remind us of the benefits of profound love-an emotion that can only develop with time. In The Arc of Love, he provides an in-depth, philosophical account of the experiences that arise in early, intense love-sexual passion, novelty, change-as well as the benefits of cultivating long-term, profound love-stability, development, calmness. Ben-Ze'ev analyzes the core of emotions we experience in early love and the challenges we encounter, and he offers pointers for weathering these challenges. Deploying the rigorous analysis of a philosopher, but writing clearly and in an often humorous style with an eye to lived experience, he takes on topics like compromise, commitment, polyamory, choosing a partner, online dating, and when to say "I love you." Ultimately, Ben-Ze'ev assures us, while love is indeed best when fresh, if we tend to it carefully, it can become more delicious and nourishing even as time marches on.
"Aaron Ben-Ze'ev's new book The Arc of Love is an enthralling account of why so many people today end up in a series of meaningless short-term relationships, hoping that one day they will meet their perfect match. But Ben-Ze'ev doesn't settle for identifying the root cause of why we are having trouble finding profound long-lasting love. Throughout the book he offers practical advice that can help you get rid of your unrealistic ideals and show you how you can come to experience the magic of being able to grow old with the person you love."-Berit "Brit" Brogaard, author of On Romantic Love
"It is important, when contemplating the nature of love, to remember that every romantic love relationship, like the people involved in it, has a history. Love is not static; it is a thing with a story, a thing that takes place in time. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev's wide-ranging new book, The Arc of Love, which focuses on this aspect of love, will be of interest to philosophers, psychologists, and others who are doing their best to think adequately about this significant, meaningful, very human phenomenon."-Troy Jollimore, author of Syllabus of Errors
"The Arc of Love is a deeply thoughtful analysis that weaves together psychological insights with philosophy, neuroscience, sociology, economics, pop culture, literature, and real stories from real people to show how profound and enduring long-term romantic love is achievable. It untangles a dense web of unhelpful myths, mysteries, and assumptions about love and gives us an arsenal of handy intellectual tools with which to open up new romantic possibilities. It also strikes a playful balance between serious scholarly inquiry and almost poetic prose that makes it delightfully readable and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny. Ben-Ze'ev's optimism about keeping and enhancing romantic and personal flourishing is contagious and inspiring."-Skye Cleary, author of Existentialism and Romantic Love

As part of the Valentine’s Day Special: Philosophers on Love, Relationships, Jealousy, Autonomy, Respect, Affairs, Desire, & more on Daily Nous, February 14,  2018

http://dailynous.com/2018/02/14/valentines-day-special-philosophers-on-love-relationships-jealousy-autonomy-respect-affairs-desire/#PISMENNY

Finding romance, love, and sexual intimacy is a central part of our life experience. Although people engage in romance in a variety of ways, alternatives to “the couple” are largely overlooked in relationship research. Scholars and the media have recently argued that the rules of romance are changing, suggesting that interest in consensual departures from monogamy may become popular as people navigate their long-term coupling. This study utilizes Google Trends to assess Americans’ interest in seeking out information related to consensual nonmonogamous relationships across a 10-year period (2006–2015). Using anonymous Web queries from hundreds of thousands of Google search engine users, results show that searches for words related to polyamory and open relationships (but not swinging) have significantly increased over time. Moreover, the magnitude of the correlation between consensual nonmonogamy Web queries and time was significantly higher than popular Web queries over the same time period, indicating this pattern of increased interest in polyamory and open relationships is unique. Future research avenues for incorporating consensual nonmonogamous relationships into relationship science are discussed.

Polyamory has become more acceptable in the last decade in Australia, US and Europe; both as a concept and the practice of multiple relationships conducted ethically and responsibly with the agreement of all. Research interest in polyamory is steadily growing and maturing. The media sustains a deep interest in polyamory and there is a definite segmentation in the representation of this phenomenon, ranging from acceptance, to ambiguity, to outright hostility. The last two betray underlying tensions about multipartner alternatives to the cultural comformity of monogamy. The meainstream media is perhaps the most telling of them all: it treats polyamory with a mixture of titillation and rejection, conjuring up sexy scenarios of infidelity that betray the inability of mainstream imagination to engage with non-monogamy on its own terms. At the heart of this portrayal there is a conflation of cheating with ethical non-monogamy, effectively erasing the visibility of polyamory in the discussion and re-inforcing readers’ own cultural assumptions that lock polyamory in the duality of the monogamy/cheating system.The conservative media shows even deeper cultural anxieties around multipartnering as it brands polyamory unacceptable on the basis of a moralistic argument that appeals to conservative notions of what ‘our true nature’ represents. Finally, in order to gaze where the trajectory of changing representations may be leading, I will draw some parallels between gay liberation and the polyamory movement: they share the same fight against cultural norms and legal discrimination, and have to contend with compromises in identity and practice that their potential ‘mainstreaming’ entails.

The purpose of this study was to identify the process by which mental health professionals become competent to work with transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) clients. There is a well-documented need for more professionals who are competent to work with this population,
both because of the current lack of competency within the field, and because of the increased risk of negative outcomes among transgender and gender-expansive individuals. The data collected answered the research question: How do mental health professionals from diverse backgrounds develop the knowledge, skills, and awareness/attitudes necessary to be competent with transgender and gender-expansive clients? This study used an instrumental, collective case study
design to compare the findings from several cases. For this study, 13 professional counselors and marriage and family therapists were interviewed about how they became competent to work with
TGE clients. Demographically, the participants ranged in age from 32 to 72, the majority identified as White, and most defined their sexuality as something other than heterosexual. The data were analyzed using pattern matching and explanation building techniques, which involved
identifying common themes and patterns between cases, and interpreting the data to explain how participants reached a point of feeling competent to work with TGE clients. The data were reviewed and categorized, and themes and patterns were identified within each category. The findings confirmed the applicability of the multicultural counseling competencies (MCC) theory with TGE populations and revealed definitions of competency that support existing guidelines. It
was also possible to identify a common process among participants of becoming competent to work with TGE clients. This process began with awareness and progressed through education, self-reflection, exposure to TGE individuals and narratives, mentorship and supervision, work
experience, and learning from mistakes.

Zagadnienie wolności -rozumianej przede wszystkim jako jawne wytaczanie granic oraz dozwoloności 1 praktyk i zachowań (związanych z emocjonalnością, intymnością, seksualnością, erotyką oraz wieloma innymi sposobami przebywania z ludźmi i dzielenia się szeroko pojmowanym doświadczeniem) -w układach niemonogamicznych najczęściej poruszane jest w relacji do ustalonych przez zachodnią kulturę granic pożycia związków dwuosobowych. Związki te mogą, ale nie muszą być w żaden sposób rejestrowane, nie muszą również (przynajmniej nie w najbardziej tradycyjnym sensie) dotyczyć tylko i wyłącznie osób różnych płci. Jedyne, co staje się podstawą porównania, czy poszukiwania alternatywnego rozumienia zakazów, nakazów i przyzwoleń, to zamknięcie układu i niemożność intymnej realizacji poza nim. Przewodnik "Puszczalscy z zasadami" opisuje tę klasyczną wizję następująco: Wszystkim nam wpajano, że jedyny właściwy związek to monogamiczne, heteroseksualne małżeństwo na całe życie. Wpajano nam, że monogamia jest normalna i naturalna, a jeżeli nasze pragnienia nie mieszczą się w jej ramach, mamy zwichniętą moralność, zaburzoną psychikę i postępujemy wbrew naturze. [...] Idea monogamii do grobowej deski jako jedynego słusznego celu zakorzeniła się w naszej kulturze tak mocno, że stała się niemal niewidoczna. [...] Nie zauważamy jej, dopóki się o nią nie potkniemy. 2

'What is family?' is an impossible question. Singular definitions in the legal realm are predominant in the West. Such definitions are no longer tenable. The concept of family has been put under strain by both empirical and normative evolutions concerning the ways in which we do family. ‘What is family?’, however, is also a necessary question. It is necessary for navigating an ocean of practices that can be frightful to many, due to the increasing blurring of categories and practices.

This themed section has a double-barreled ambition. It first wishes to
introduce queer families to the general public, especially in Italy, where
this law journal has its headquarters. The second aim is to offer reflections on the relationship between queer families and law by looking at topics as varied as polyamory, multi-parenting, non-conjugal families of relatives, and more generally all families that eschew the dominant paradigm.

The approach is comparative and interdisciplinary. The jurisdictions covered are Canada, Europe, the US, and Italy, while the disciplines with which law will seek to establish a dialogue span psychology, social movement theory, gender studies, and literature.