WDAY/WDAZ TV (Fargo, ND)





Love can be felt and described in a number of ways and to many, its often defined as a relationship between two people. But an age old practice is seeing a new movement in the Red River Valley that challenges the social norm.



The polyamorous community is now reaching out, showing that they are here, should be accepted, and that it's more common than you may think.



Game night with family and friends can bring a lot of laughter and love but for many in this room, love has broader boundaries than many traditionally think.



“None of this 'I have to have a secret life in my head'...”



“Yes, I have played wingman for my husband. It's a thing..."



Kurt Mesford and his wife, who's asked to be called Ashton and have her identity hidden, share a view on love that's not the norm.



...They're polyamorous, which means many loves.



Each currently has five relationships, a dynamic they're open with in their church where Ashton teaches Sunday school, with their family and friends and with their young daughter Haven.



“She doesn't know anything more about our love life than she would if we were monogamous,” said Ashton.



With the unique family dynamic, Haven has had to explain it to friends.



“I just say one person loves more than one person that's not in the family,” said Haven.



But she loves her parents as well as all of their partners, including one of Ashton's boyfriends, Andrew Tyson.



“If you're married and you're falling in love with a second person, your options are to either cheat or grit your teeth an bear it. Polyamory offers another option,” said Tyson.



As a once monogamous married man, Andrew has made polyamorous activism his passion with the recent creation of a group called PolyAware.



He estimates about 1,000 people in Fargo-Moorhead are polyamorous and he wants others who are interested to know there is a place to learn more and feel accepted.



“Monogamy is so present and ingrained in our culture that people never really question it. It's rare that you find someone who questions and wakes up one day and says 'huh, I wonder if I really should be monogamous', because they don't realize they have other choices,” said Tyson.



...In the next few months, PolyAware plans to expand their group to Grand Forks because of interest.



In the meantime, they hold a presentation every fourth Sunday of the month at the Pride Center in Fargo.



Anyone, whether you’re interested in a polyamorous lifestyle or just want to learn more, can attend.



We have information here.





At Rocky Mountain Poly Living in Denver last month I met an organizer from North Dakota and, as I recall, gave him my spiel on how easy it can be to get free publicity in local media. Just call and ask if they'd be interested in your thing. They always need local human-interest stuff.Well here you go. Last night the Fargo-Moorhead TV news featured him and others in a five-minute report. They could hardly have asked for better treatment if it was their own paid ad. Including the well-spoken young daughter. Including where to get more info about the group, and when it meets. Watch here (May 15, 2016). A transcript is there with it. Excerpts:Of course, not all may go this well for you! You need to be able to assess how a media outlet will treat you — and especially, how to present your key messages so that at least some of them will get across. Here are two excellent guides as to how:● John Ullman's Doing a Media Interview? Tempted? Make Sure it’s not Poly In, Garbage Out (old but still as good as new).● Joreth's. She gives a great Powerpoint on this, if you want to book her for your next conference.

Labels: activism, TV