I was talking to a young friend about marriage. By young I mean early 30s. She is in a long-term relationship with a man and they are both in a new relationship with a lesbian couple. I asked her how that was working out.
"It's working out great for everyone!" she said. In her circle it's not unusual. She and her friends do not believe in monogamy or the "old school" rendition of marriage where two people are committed to each other exclusively for life. She said she's not sure about marriage at all, but does envision being with her partner in some form for life.
I want to understand how that works. One of the key things in their circle is that everyone is committed to a very high level of communication. I know several of them, and I would give them all an A++ on how they communicate with each other. At least it appears that way from the outside. They go to communications workshops. They co-counsel each other. They strive for 100% honesty.
I asked, "What happens if you want to sleep with someone else and your partner is threatened by that person?" She said, "We talk about it before anything happens." There are rules. It sounds a little complicated and scary, and it's true that communication takes up a good deal of their time. But the five or six people that I've met in that circle seem happier than most other people I meet. They live near each other. They travel together or separately. They do large art projects together. They are involved in community service together, often in an effort to help other young people become better communicators.
The people in this circle identify as queer. By queer I think they mean this definition: "A political statement, as well as a sexual orientation, which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid."
It's pretty forward thinking. Makes me feel kind of old. Is it too late for me to be queer? Do I have enough time?
"It's working out great for everyone!" she said. In her circle it's not unusual. She and her friends do not believe in monogamy or the "old school" rendition of marriage where two people are committed to each other exclusively for life. She said she's not sure about marriage at all, but does envision being with her partner in some form for life.
I want to understand how that works. One of the key things in their circle is that everyone is committed to a very high level of communication. I know several of them, and I would give them all an A++ on how they communicate with each other. At least it appears that way from the outside. They go to communications workshops. They co-counsel each other. They strive for 100% honesty.
I asked, "What happens if you want to sleep with someone else and your partner is threatened by that person?" She said, "We talk about it before anything happens." There are rules. It sounds a little complicated and scary, and it's true that communication takes up a good deal of their time. But the five or six people that I've met in that circle seem happier than most other people I meet. They live near each other. They travel together or separately. They do large art projects together. They are involved in community service together, often in an effort to help other young people become better communicators.
The people in this circle identify as queer. By queer I think they mean this definition: "A political statement, as well as a sexual orientation, which advocates breaking binary thinking and seeing both sexual orientation and gender identity as potentially fluid."
It's pretty forward thinking. Makes me feel kind of old. Is it too late for me to be queer? Do I have enough time?
hi kim,
ReplyDeletereally enjoying your sharings here. this one and others.
from what i can tell your mind and choices are very fluid. how you have defined 'queer' up there... in a general way i would say you embody.
if you were to go past the radical move of allowing a merged fluidity to your view of your self politically and sexually, and included other ways that we compartmentalize or categorize.... for instance your self emotionally, financially, socially, spiritually, etc...
would you then be extra queer? crazy? free?
('you' meaning 'me', 'us')
my sister used to say 'weird means god'. i am not sure what language base shows that root.. but it made me think that she meant 'to not surrender to conformity is good'.
XOXO
trishna
Love you Trishna!
ReplyDeleteGet a room!
ReplyDeleteYour thinking is wonderfully queer, Kim, even if your behavior isn't. A true free spirit. Love you always. Love to laugh with you. xo xo Steve
ReplyDelete