What great news!! Terisa Greenan, creator of the Family webseries, and the video about her and her real-life poly family that accompanied Newsweek online's July 29, 2009 polyamory article has been named an editor's choice of the top 10 NEWSWEEK videos in 2009! To them I send a big "HUZZAH!" along with many thanks for taking risks (privacy, livelihood, child custody) that most would quite justifiably refrain from taking. It takes great courage to invite the media into your life and family when you're a poly person. It can have unintended consequences, but this family handled themselves admirably, and the article turned out very well indeed.
So what does this recognition say about the growth of interest in polyamory in 2009? Quite a lot, actually. The Newsweek article is probably the most widely-read mainstream article ever written on the subject. It was referenced far and wide over the internet by mainstream journalists and religious conservatives (who were none too pleased, of course), and it sparked no fewer than 727 comments on the article on the Newsweek website. It has certainly helped raise awareness of polyamory, in great part due to the positive example set by Terisa, Larry, Scott, Matt, and Vera. We owe them our thanks.
If you've never seen the "Family" web series, you can see it in its uncensored entirety here. After concluding its first season on October 31 it's on haitus just now but is to return in 2010. Stay tuned.
2 comments:
> The Newsweek article is probably the most
> widely-read mainstream article ever written
> on the subject.
I don't think this is so. It didn't get into the printed magazine, whereas Time magazine printed a big article about poly in 1999 during the April Divilbiss case. There's more recently been the NY Times, Wash Post, TV network news sites, and just a month ago an excellent (if tabloidy) feature in the News of the World, the world's largest-circulation newspaper in English, circ 3.4 million (as of 2006):
http://polyinthemedia.blogspot.com/2009/11/love-is-1-man-3-women-and-bed-built-for.html
Alan M.
You could be right, Alan - I am guessing based on the breadth of coverage and buzz it generated, as well as the resulting widespread reactionary hand-wringing at the idea that polyamory is the next sexual/romantic revolution. I'm also considering that print media is less and less the place where people get their news, while internet sources are thriving. And from what I've seen written it seems to be taken as a bigger deal and generated more debate than any of the other articles.
All that said, There is certainly nothing scientific about my supposition. Maybe the more accurate way to put it would have been to say that it may be the most widely commented-on mainstream article on polyamory.
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