Poly what?

Every morning the latest articles and research on children of divorce, adult children of divorce, divorce, and cohabitation await my review. Today, Polyamorists are Coming Out of the Closet * caught my eye. Not that I was worried about them coming out, I simply had no idea what a polyamorist was.

Just in case you’re not up on the latest, latest, latest jargon, polyamory is “the state or practice of having more than one open romantic relationship at a time.” ** In my younger days, that wasn’t called polyamory, it was high school. However, turns out there are entire polyamorist communities out there. Who knew?

Apparently poly-whatever is the politically correct word for polygamy. Just like people aren’t pro or anti-gay anymore—they’re affirming or non-affirming. Our parents didn’t divorce, they consciously uncoupled. And our homes weren’t broken, they were binuclear.

Redefining words and meanings to suit our own purpose isn’t new. Twenty-seven hundred years ago, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” *** My concern is, even with binuclear, consciously uncoupled, or polyamorist wrapping paper, it’s still a bad gift for the kids.

* Celina Durgin, “Polyamorists are coming out of the closet”, http://www.realwomenofcanada.ca/polyamorists-are-coming-out-of-the-closet.,  June 18, 2014. * http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyamory *** Isaiah 5:20, New King James Version