So taking the conversation back into a more serious direction for a moment, I'd like to discuss a common form of gatekeeping within the polyamorous community: The exclusion of people who are aromatic, asexual, demi-romantic, or demi-sexual.
Apparently there's a small but vocal subset of the community who think if a relationship doesn't have sexual or romantic connections, it doesn't count. As if a relationship without those things can't be just as deep, just as meaningful. Honestly, as a relationship anarchist, I find the whole gatekeeping concept rather offensive, but this particular subset really annoys me. There's even more extreme subsets that believe a relationship must have a romantic connection to count. So even if you have a platonic AND sexual connection, it's not good enough to be considered a "real" relationship, as you're missing the magical property. I think this odd hyperfocus on romantic love is actually a cultural artefact derived from the heteronormative, monogamous social stereotypes. It's something that I believe has no place in the polyamorous community, and certainly shouldn't be anywhere to be found in the more diverse web of relationship anarchy. Okay, that's my rant for the day. Good night all!