Jenny Block Goes Up Against Focus on the Family on Fox News

Hey, check out poly author Jenny Block's brief interview on Fox today. Jenny was up against Glenn Stanton, Director of Global Family Formation Studies at Dr. James Dobson's conservative marriage movement org Focus on the Family. Note while Jenny describes her family and opinion Stanton's disrespectful "oh please" expression before he ever opens his mouth.



At least Jenny got the last word this time, which was not the case when she appeared on Fox's Mornings with Mike and Juliet - see my post - a while back.

She held her own pretty well. Would have loved to have heard her debunk Stanton's contention that every society that has allowed multipartner marriage has ended up with situations where women are collected and thrown away. This, at least western culture and specifically the United States, is a different place and time, where women are liberated and patriarchy no longer applies to the situation, at least not to egalitarian polyamory. THAT is the point that we must make to knock all the props out from under the opposition.

Also, the opposition keeps raising multipartner marriage as if we are clammoring for it. In my observation very few polyamorists say this is what they want, though they DO want a system that is more fair. Most who are intentional about their family structures arrange for most of the legal rights they are missing out on via legally binding contracts. Tax benefits would still be missing, but it's hard to conceive of a time in the foreseable future when government will permit multipartner marriage. I see this as due to the tremendous changes that would have to take place in the tax code, social security system, etc., to acommodate it. Same-sex marriage doesn't make such changes necessary.

Bottom line, I don't think we should let them bait us into debating the merits of legal multipartner marriage. Neither should we permit ourselves to continue to be used as the poltiical football in the same-sex marriage debate. Our existence is no reason for marriage equality to be denied to those who seek it for two same-sex partners, especially when there isn't even a movement within the polyamory community or its leadership in that direction.

I don't mean any of this as criticism of Jenny, not at all. It's just a matter of refining the message a bit. She is a brave woman for being willing to repeatedly go on Fox to spread the word and hopefully raise some consciousness. I hope it helps her book sales, too.

Miss Polyamory and Me

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at length with the lovely and multi-talented Beki Rosenthal, a/k/a Miss Polyamory, in an interview for her podcast, which you can listen to here. It's also available on iTunes. In it I share about my background, personal poly experiences, and my polyamory activism and education work.

Beki is an author, blogger, prolific podcaster, relationships coach and is certified in conflict resolution. I had the pleasure of meeting her for the first time at the 2008 Polyamory Pride celebration in New York City.

Many, many thanks to Beki for all she is doing to provide additional resources to polyamorists who seek help and advice on how to conduct successful polyamorous relationships!