By Gabriela Antezana
Patriarchy is internalized within the walls of the American society espeically when it comes to relationships. Communities that break this norm like the LGBTQ+ and the poly community break through the surface, the patriarchy and oppression become apparent for the minority (Ryan & Jetha 2010). People that are a part of the LBGTQ+ community have always been a part of the sexual minority in the United States. When it comes to the representation of people that are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, it seems to be very limited to bisexual (usually women) and heterosexual (usually men) people. The representation of same-sex relationships on mainstream media for the poly community is very limited to usually one man and two women. This creates barriers within the community leaving many people underrepresented and or understood according to My LGBT Plus.
Homophobia & Objectification
It is presented through the media that there are trends of objectification and homophobia among men and women. Homophobia tends to circulate around male-identifying people. This may occur much less often than it would in the monogamous-heterosexual community but it is still apparent to the poly community. The poly community tends to value bisexual relationships over same-sex relations and its depiction in their media. According to by Elisabeth A. Sheff, gay men seem to avoid any situation that potentially could regard experiencing homophobia in which why they try to avoid this mainstream poly community. As for women, polyamory is a way of rejecting the internalized patriarchy that society holds within its values. Although, there is a large percent of polyamorous women that still do experience objectification which prevents them from being the in mainstream spotlight according to Psychology Today. The heterosexual male fantasy of being with two women at a time pushes lesbian women to not be able to be represented in the community fully because of the hypersexualization that they experience from this.
Why are there so few gay and lesbian relationships in the mainstream poly community?
For a long time, polyamory has been embedded within the LGBTQ+ community, especially within the walls of gay men. Being faced with homophobia, oppression, and stigma because of one’s sexual orientation the pressure with another label did not seem to be in the liking for many of the community members. In recent years polyamory has become a very mainstream phenomenon within the bisexual and heterosexual community. While many gay men have been participating in it years before it rose, their image has stayed in secret. For the gay community to be liberated through their sexuality, Brandon Ambrosino suggests there must be an overhaul of culture.
Breaking Relationship Norms 