Polyamorism watch

As states in the north-east strikes up one legislative victory after another in the arena of gay rights, the next ones in line may be polyamorists - or threesome marriage partners demanding their rights... 

Less than 18 months ago, Sasha Lessin and Janet Kira Lessin gathered before their friends near their home in Maui, and proclaimed their love for one another. Nothing unusual about that—Sasha, 68, and Janet, 55—were legally married in 2000. Rather, this public commitment ceremony was designed to also bind them to Shivaya, their new 60-something "husband."

... Unlike open marriages and the swinger days of the 1960s and 1970s, these unions are not about sex with multiple outside partners. Nor are they relationships where one person is involved with two others, who are not involved with each other. That's closer to bigamy. Instead, triads—"triangular triads," to use precise polyamorous jargon—demand that all three parties have full relationships, including sexual, with each other.

Heinz Pinggera, The Harem, oil on canvas, 29" X 39"

Porn and political affiliations

Results from a new nationwide study of anonymised credit-card receipts from porn purchases online. It sure looks like hard core Republicans love their porn with the same tenacity with which they hold onto their Republican values...

- Eight of the top 10 pornography consuming states gave their electoral votes to John McCain in last year's presidential election – Florida and Hawaii were the exceptions. While six out of the lowest 10 favoured Barack Obama.
- Those states that do consume the most porn tend to be more conservative and religious than states with lower levels of consumption, the study finds.
- Residents of 27 states that passed laws banning gay marriages boasted 11% more porn subscribers than states that don't explicitly restrict gay marriage.
- States where a majority of residents agreed with the statement "I have old-fashioned values about family and marriage," bought 3.6 more subscriptions per thousand people than states where a majority disagreed.

Full report here.