Obligatory introductory post

Hi everyone,

We’re going to try something new here – a poly advice column/blog. Because we’re tired of seeing all the hack advice given out by the Dear Abbys, Dr. Phils and Psychology Today columnists not named Deborah Anapol, who are pushing monogamy as the only relationship option for their audiences.

We’ll answer questions about polyamory, and give our viewpoints on your specific situation. Doing this in a blog instead of on Facebook means you can be completely anonymous if you wish, so don’t spare us the dirty details! Send your questions or problems to us at openloveny@gmail.com and watch for your answers here in an upcoming blog post. I’ll write in purple, and Leon will write in blue.

Our organization, Open Love NY, was formed in February 2009 with the idea that all consensual adult relationship models should be accepted and honored. Our 700+ person membership is made up of adults who are LGBTQs, heterosexuals, asexuals, kink/BDSM people, and monogamous allies, from a wide range of races/ages/spiritualities/nationalities. You can find more information about our group at http://www.openloveny.com/.

To introduce myself, I have been President of Open Love NY since July 2010 when the organizing committee elected its first officers to oversee the group’s early stages of growth. I’ve been poly since January 2008. Before that, I was in a long-term monogamous relationship for almost 10 years, and have had several long- and short-term polyamorous relationships since. I also co-founded the New York Polyamorous Women’s Group on Meetup.com in April 2008, which is still active.

Over to you Leon!

Hey everyone! This is an idea we’ve all been plotting and planning for quite a while now, so it’s nice to see it come to fruition. My name is Leon, I’m 38 years old, and have been happily ensconced in a mono/poly relationship for a year and a half. I’m currently the Vice President of Open Love NY, and one of the original founders. Because I’m openly polyamorous, it’s been suggested that I write a book about my experiences. That’s not happening anytime soon, but via this blog I can share some of the many lessons I’ve learned along the way. Coming from such different backgrounds, Michelle and I will probably disagree from time to time – but that should make for some good perspective (or comedy) for you, our readers. We’ll do our best to respond within a day or three with our joint responses. So who has a question for us? Email it, and let the games begin!