Re: [UUPoly-L] Poly Def (was: Too many circles, lines, triangles.....)

["Earth Father" <earthfather@cfnc.us>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: David VanHorn
> 
> 5. And also, frankly, I think it is disrespectful to MG and those of
> > us who were pioneering poly before the she coined the word. If you
> > want labels for non-poly relationships, be polite and ethical enough
> > to do the work and make up your own words.

I was pioneering poly in the mid 60's -- *before* the Summer of Love and the
hippies-- I don't find it disrespectful that people focus on the intensity of
the love relationship rather than the positioning of body parts.

I also claim no special privilege because I have been actively poly for more
than 40 years; I know folks half my age from whom I have a lot to learn,
including what polyamory is all about.

Claiming an ethical basis for word usage, about which reasonable people can
disagree, seems excessive.  Words do not belong to any one person; the
definition of a word is whatever significant numbers of people use it to mean,
and words can have multiple meanings, or shades of meaning.  

The Wikipedia article notes that:

Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English defines polyamory as,
"participation in multiple and simultaneous loving or sexual relationships."

Merriam Webster's Dictionary gives the definition as, " The state or practice
of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time.".



Notice that the first definition does not *require* a sexual component, and the
second one doesn't even mention it.  So there are significant numbers of people
for whom the word is broad enough to include relationships that do not
currently involve sexual activity.

Michael Rios