Polyamory through the ages

Glen Olson and Terry Lee Brussels are the co-authors of 50 Years of Polyamory in America, A Guided Tour of a Growing Movement. They graciously have joined us to continue the conversation we began with Kathy Labriola last episode: the history of polyamory and aging in polyamory.

Glen, an author and historian of the polyamory movement, gives presentations on the history of polyamory to interested groups. He is a retired fire captain, paramedic, and technical writer. He is a contributing author to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s original CERT Disaster Preparedness Student Manual, distributed nationwide by FEMA. He has written several student manuals for internal fire department use and is a published science fiction and fantasy fiction writer.

His introduction to organized polyamory began in the 1970s when he was invited to attend a workshop on open relationships at Elysium Fields in Topanga Canyon, California. The workshop was hosted by the organization Family Synergy. He subsequently joined Family Synergy, attending many workshops and conventions. Over the next several decades he attended events put on by almost every organization on the West Coast and several in the Midwest and eastern United States. Over the years he has made presentations to colleges and interested groups, like science fiction conventions, on the subject of open relationships and polyamory.

Terry Lee Brussel-Rogers is an author and hypnotherapist, helping clients with everything from intimacy without jealousy to spiritual growth and poly relationship coaching. Terry co-founded Live the Dream, an education and support group for people interested in alternative lifestyles, cooperative living, open relationships, and group marriage. 

Some of the topics and questions Terry and Glen tackle during this episode are:

• How their book project began, if any of the organizations they speak about in the book are still around today, and what they found most surprising about the project as a whole.

• Why they focused on formal organizations in their book and what first drew them to that structure, as well as what we know about polyamory practices outside of organizations.

• Do you think as a culture we’ve moved past the idea of a polyamorous, utopian society, or is that still vision present today but just in a different form?

• Having surveyed over half a century of polyamorous organizational history, how do you think the nature of polyamorous organizing and community building is similar and/or different now than in the past?

• What do you think the future of polyamorous organization and community building will look like? What's your impression or take on how polyamorous practice and education has shifted and changed? How are the next generations picking up the mantle?

• Hierarchy and initial uses of the terms primary, secondary, and tertiary.

• What’s your take with the whole drama around who “coined” the term polyamory in the first place?

• There is a lot of primary focus on predominantly white and often assumed heterosexual communities and organizations in this book. There is also a rich history of Black communities/organizations as well as queer communities/organizations influencing the shape of American polyamory. How do they fit into this history?

• How have the swinging and polyamory communities interacted and defined themselves in relation to each other?

• Why is it important to look back on polyamorous history? Why is this book important? 

Be sure to listen to the full interview to get all of Glen and Terry’s insight, knowledge, and perspective on polyamorous history! 50 Years of Polyamory in America can be purchased at every bookseller’s website, as well as directly from the publisher. Contact Glen at glenolson.org to get a limited time discount code for those who purchase from the publisher’s website!

Find more about Terry and her coaching and hypnotherapy at livethedream.org, acesuccess.com, reachforthestars.today, or reach her directly at 1-800 462-5669 or 1-800-543-3628.