Polyliving
My trip to Philadelphia on the Amtrak regional was pleasant, except I was developing a cold and I sat too near a door, so that every time the door opened I got a blast of cold air. I rode in the "quiet car", which was really nice--no involuntary eavesdropping on cell-phone conversations. When I got to 30th St. Station, only 25 minutes late, there was an enormous line at the taxi stand, but it moved very quickly. I noticed a couple also waiting. The man was tall and blond and wore a serape instead of a coat. When I got to the hotel, my taxi almost drove off with my luggage. Fortunately the bellman noticed and gave a shout which recalled the driver to his duty.
At the registration desk, there was the couple I'd noticed at the taxi stand. We spoke and I asked them (flash of intuition) if they were there for the Polyliving conference and they said yes. I guess we poly's can recognize each other.
The keynote speakers were superb. Dossie Eastman and Janet Hardy are the co-authors of _The Ethical Slut_. Hardy used a pseudonym when the book was published, because she still had minor children then. She told us her pen name, Katherine A. Liszt, was chosen as a pun on "catalyst". The two shared the podium gracefully and effectively. (They are lovers as well as collaborators.) They argued persuasively for a "pluralistic" view of sex, sexual orientation and gender, rather than a dualistic one: male/female, masculine/feminine, gay/straight. And they argued for the joy and fulfillment and even spiritual experience which sex can bring. I was reminded at one point of a quote from Heinlein--_Time Enough for Love_ I think--to the effect that "the only sin sex can commit is to be joyless." Of course, he was assuming no lack of consent and no exploitation.
It was good to see a number of familiar faces (fellow UUPA board member Ken, fellow UUs Lee and David, ITCR folks Anita and Jim, Building Bridges co-presenter Carol, and others), and to meet new people too, especially Robyn Trask of the reborn _Loving More_.
The next morning, I attended a workshop on how to maintain a poly relationship and then did my own presentation on Sex and the Law. It was very well received and well attended, and the audience was attentive and interactive. After lunch, which was enlivened by a (briefly) monogamous honeymoon at a nude resort in Mexico, I went to a presentation by Janet Hardy on gender. Very thought provoking. Her stories about gender-bending relationships were fascinating, as was one man who said he considered himself neuter but had trained himself to use masculine pronouns after his son was born, so the child wouldn't have trouble in school. I had to leave early (with apologies to the presenter) in order to catch my train . . .I thought.
When I got to the station, I had JUST missed the Acela and my own train was one and a half hours late. I didn't get home till nearly eleven.
It was a very good conference. There were about one hundred fifty attendees. I couldn't help wondering what this conference had that BB in Boston hadn't had. Congratulations to George for a fine job organizing.
It was gratifying to tell so many people about the Sexual Freedom Legal Defense and Education Fund and pass out so many flyers. I hope we'll get some of them back with donations.
At the registration desk, there was the couple I'd noticed at the taxi stand. We spoke and I asked them (flash of intuition) if they were there for the Polyliving conference and they said yes. I guess we poly's can recognize each other.
The keynote speakers were superb. Dossie Eastman and Janet Hardy are the co-authors of _The Ethical Slut_. Hardy used a pseudonym when the book was published, because she still had minor children then. She told us her pen name, Katherine A. Liszt, was chosen as a pun on "catalyst". The two shared the podium gracefully and effectively. (They are lovers as well as collaborators.) They argued persuasively for a "pluralistic" view of sex, sexual orientation and gender, rather than a dualistic one: male/female, masculine/feminine, gay/straight. And they argued for the joy and fulfillment and even spiritual experience which sex can bring. I was reminded at one point of a quote from Heinlein--_Time Enough for Love_ I think--to the effect that "the only sin sex can commit is to be joyless." Of course, he was assuming no lack of consent and no exploitation.
It was good to see a number of familiar faces (fellow UUPA board member Ken, fellow UUs Lee and David, ITCR folks Anita and Jim, Building Bridges co-presenter Carol, and others), and to meet new people too, especially Robyn Trask of the reborn _Loving More_.
The next morning, I attended a workshop on how to maintain a poly relationship and then did my own presentation on Sex and the Law. It was very well received and well attended, and the audience was attentive and interactive. After lunch, which was enlivened by a (briefly) monogamous honeymoon at a nude resort in Mexico, I went to a presentation by Janet Hardy on gender. Very thought provoking. Her stories about gender-bending relationships were fascinating, as was one man who said he considered himself neuter but had trained himself to use masculine pronouns after his son was born, so the child wouldn't have trouble in school. I had to leave early (with apologies to the presenter) in order to catch my train . . .I thought.
When I got to the station, I had JUST missed the Acela and my own train was one and a half hours late. I didn't get home till nearly eleven.
It was a very good conference. There were about one hundred fifty attendees. I couldn't help wondering what this conference had that BB in Boston hadn't had. Congratulations to George for a fine job organizing.
It was gratifying to tell so many people about the Sexual Freedom Legal Defense and Education Fund and pass out so many flyers. I hope we'll get some of them back with donations.