Elisabeth Sheff's Blog, page 15

The One Penis Policy

This blog explores the phenomenon of the One Penis Policy in which some men in polyamorous relationships attempt to limit their female partners access to other men.

When Your Partner Wants Non-Monogamy and You Don’t

This blog explores the difficulties that some people in mixed orientation relationships with a monogamous and a polyamorous person, as well as some strategies to handle challenges

Who Counts as Mom and Dad?

When kids who grow up in polyamorous families have multiple adults in their lives, how do they decide who counts as a parent? What do the kids call the additional adults?

Graceful Endings and Expanded Connections: Resilience Part 3

This third blog about resilience shows how poly families use graceful endings to create extended connections among adults, and how divorced folks could use these strategies too.

Resilient Family Outcomes Through Polyaffectivity

The second in a series of three on resilience, this blog looks at how polyamorous families de-emphasize sexuality and focus instead on polyaffectivity -- the non-sexual connections among family members -- to sustain connections over time. Useful for blended monogamous families, the poly ability to flex with changing circumstances is key to the resilience of polyaffectivity

Resilience in Polyamorous Families

This blog introduces resilience with a strengths-based perspective that helps explain how some families thrive through adversity, and how polyamorous families demonstrate resilience through flexibility and communication.

Fear of Damage to Children in Polyamorous Families

Because polyamory is stigmatized in conventional society, many poly parents or other adults who love children being raised in poly families are concerned about how growing up in a polyamorous family might affect children. In this blog I include a question from a concerned mother and my response to her concerns about how her relationships might impact her kids.

Five Disadvantages of Polyamory

This blog examines some of the disadvantages to polyamory, including 1. Complexity, 2. Partner Turnover, 3. Faulty Negotiation, 4. Legal Problems, and 5. Too Much Supervision

Why Monogamy Isn't

This blog explores some of the current cultural expressions of monogamy including hookup culture, serial monogamy, and the many new ways people can find access to cheating online. While monogamy is still the dominant cultural form, it is not inherently good in all instances. Monogamy is as open to flaws as are other forms of relationship.

How Society Could Accommodate Multi-Partner Marriages

Legalizing same-sex marriage has started people talking more seriously about the possibility of multiple-partner marriage. For some that means a slide down a slippery slop to absolute chaos, but it does not have to be that way. This blog looks at two alternative ways to structure multiple-partner marriage and explores some of the possible social impacts.