Normalizing Non-Monogamy - Interviews in Polyamory and Swinging

This conversation is incredibly powerful in so many ways! Elizabeth is in her early thirties and has been exploring ethical non-monogamy for over a decade. Things got off to a bit of an unethical start during college but she quickly decided to just take ownership of her wants and who she was. She didn't have any language for what she was doing or wanting but that didn't stop her from blazing her own trail. As she puts it... She sort of "wrecking balled" her way through polyamory for a bit.   The way she has approached non-monogamy over the course of her journey has evolved, but she has always shown up with as much integrity and transparency as possible. She shares with us in a deeply honest and transparent way about her struggles, her flaws, and her (hilarious) bloopers. At the same time, she balances it with the incredible amount of love and support she has surrounding her from partners, family, and friends. What's amazing to us about this conversation is how powerful it is, while at the same time, we laughed our way through the entire thing.   Elizabeth is also a relationship coach, primarily working with people in the polyamorous and queer communities... Her website bio hardly does her work justice, but it's better than we could write. So, here is a bit more about Elizabeth in her own words.   Love, Relationships, and Sexuality have always been something that Elizabeth has been passionate about. Ever since she was a kid she has been curious about how love, relationships and sexuality shape people’s lives. Especially, growing up in the Midwest where sexuality is not as talked about, she began asking herself and others questions that people had not been asked before about their sexuality and relationships. ​ She followed this passion and went to college at the University of Kansas where she earned two Bachelor’s Degrees; Political Science and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies with an emphasis in Religion and a Certificate in Service Learning.   After college, she worked as a volunteer in Community and Outreach for the Willow Domestic Violence Center. There she co-started the SAFE Initiative, where her and a team went into the community and talk to kids ages 5 - 18 about self-esteem, bullying, healthy relationships, self-love, the power of language and more. She also lead and created trainings for other volunteers on privilege, What is Domestic Violence?, How to Recognize an abuser and Being Sensitive to Sexuality. During the three years at the Willow Domestic Violence Center she lead and created talks, lectures and discussions to people ranging from the ages of 5 years old to 85 years old.   Elizabeth moved to Seattle, Washington, in 2014. She realized that her work at the domestic violence center was important but ultimately not what she wanted to be doing. In the words of Mother Theresa, Gandhi, MLK and the like, what you speak into the world is what exists. She decided she wanted to be on the side of love and relationships where she was speaking love into the world. She wanted to make a difference with people before they came to a domestic violence center. In essence, she wants to put these centers out of business.   One of the biggest takeaways from college and her experiences lead her to believe that when people are empowered, the world works. So began her journey of self-growth and development. Using herself as her own guinea pig she began to learn as much about why humans make the decisions that they do.   In her journey discovering why people make the decisions that they do, why she has made the decisions she has made, she began coaching others. Organically, it grew into a coaching business. Over the years, Elizabeth has helped people discover where their mindset is limiting their potential in love and in life. It is her true calling to witness others transform their relationships to themselves and show up for others in the ways that they have always wanted to. It is who she is, what she stands for and it is her mission in life to expand the conversation of love in the world.   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Wendy Strgar is an author and an award-winning social entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Good Clean Love, a pioneer in the organic personal care product industry. Wendy started Good Clean Love in her kitchen almost 20 years ago and has since grown it into a multimillion dollar, certified B-Corporation. Wendy’s mission in life is to increase the quality and quantity of healthy, loving, relationships in the world. Married for over 34 years, her daily life has always been the laboratory for her work.   We cover a ton of different topics in this fantastic conversation with her. She talks about the inspiration behind starting Good Clean Love, how she's managed to nurture a 34+ year marriage, the importance of cultivating a fulfilling sex life for yourself, taking care of your sexual health, and advice for tapping into your sexual self... She also shares a lot of her personal stories and relationship journey as well.   As you can imagine... ALL of these pieces of her life are very interlinked and tied to what Good Clean Love stands for. It's an incredible conversation and we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!   In addition to serving as Good Clean Love’s CEO, Wendy is a popular blogger, host of the renowned Dear Sex Podcast and author of two books. Sex That Works: An Intimate Guide To Awakening Your Erotic Life and Love that Works: A Guide to Enduring Intimacy. A sexual health educator and loveologist, Wendy is the featured writer at the award-winning blog, Making Love Sustainable. Her writing has been featured on Eco Salon, Care2, The Huffington Post and Elephant Journal, among many others.   To save 10% off your order at Good Clean Love, use the offer code EMMA at check out!   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

This conversation with Rainey and Paco is incredible. We laugh, we cry, we laugh some more... Don't skip this one.   These two have been together for about six years, nesting together for two, and recently got married just a few months ago! A few years back, they decided to open their relationship and it's evolved over the years. Their particularly flavor of ethical non-monogamy falls somewhere between swinging and polyamory. It's not a clearly defined boundary but one thing is clear... "It's not JUST sex!"   They come from two very different backgrounds. They've both been married once before. Paco is Puerto Rican and has been breaking away from the "Latin Machismo" and rewriting what it means to be himself. Rainey comes from a very conservative religious background and is coming out of an abusive marriage.   They talk through how they've worked together to overcome jealousy, fears, and so much more to land in the best relationship they've ever had and are more themselves than they've ever been!   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Taylor has been exploring polyamory, swinging, and all kinds of non-monogamy for over a decade at this point. She was married for 25 years, monogamously for about 12, and then Hedonism Resort made an appearance. Thirteen years after opening their relationship, her and her husband separated (not because of non-monogamy and she will prove it to you if you don't believe us) and now she's on her own solo journey and it is incredible.   Taylor can best be described by her own self on her website: www.organicloven.com   Amongst many things, Taylor (aka Mariposa) Sparks is a passionate erotic educator and sex goddess, certified in both holistic aromatherapy and human behavior. With over twenty years of experience in the natural skin care/cosmetics industry, Ms. Sparks launched OrganicLoven.com, one of the largest BIPOC owned online intimacy shops. Organic Loven specializes in improving adults’ sexual health/wellness and enhancing their sex lives via their organic intimate body products, body-safe sex toy materials, sex-positive books, erotic educational seminars and adults only luxury vacations.   Ms. Sparks’ expertise has contributed to articles in Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Men’s Health, Oprah, Shape, Women’s Health magazines and more. Prior to launching Organic Loven she developed a line of 16 head-to-toe organic body care products for elite endurance athletes, called Skin Care for Athletes Tri-Body Products. These products were featured in Muscle & Fitness Hers and the ESPN Magazines, sponsored numerous triathlons, 5ks and marathons as well as 5 Olympian athletes in both the summer and winter Olympics.   As a leading facilitator in the adult travel industry for many years, Taylor has served as an Experience Advisor for thousands of international travelers, bringing joy and happiness to all she encounters. Taylor remains passionate about bringing people to new destinations and providing opportunities for amazing open-living experiences.   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Elisa and Mike have been together about seven years and polyamorous for about four of them. Two years into their relationship, Elisa had an affair and that became the catalyst that led them to digging deep into their truest needs and rebuilding their relationship in an intentional way. They talk through a lot of their process of repairing and co-creating a dynamic that feels good to both of them. At the same time, in order to do this, they needed to go at their own pace, not compete with one another, and be open to growing together. This is an amazing and deep conversation.   Elisa and Mike also host the Poly+Amor=Us podcast! (Get it? "Polyamorous"... You get it.) They're on a mission similar to ours... Show people that they're not alone and provide more resources for going against the norm. Also, they interview her parents, which is amazing! Go check out and support their work!   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

If you are looking for a beautiful journey of what it can look like when you live intentionally and seek out your authentic self... Look no further. We often use this space to give a high-level overview of the relational dynamic our guests are in... There isn't a better way to describe this for Arielle besides that she is in a relationship with living an incredible life and giving love to those around her. It's a beautiful conversation and we hope you enjoy it.   A bit more about Arielle from her website: Arielle Brown is a teacher, facilitator, and ceremonialist specializing in energetic alignment, relational alchemy, and authentic communication skills. In her 1:1 private client work, Arielle supports men, women, and couples harmonizing their Masculine & Feminine energy flow in service to actualizing their creative potential, amplifying their impact in the world, and embodying greater levels of joy and meaningful fulfillment in their relationships, sexuality, and authentic expression of purpose and leadership.   She is founder of the Cosmic Tantra Community, a global online monthly membership for consciousness explorers on the awakening path seeking to anchor in the new paradigm of love, sexuality, and authentic human connection.   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Taylor and Andrew... Wow, we love this conversation. They have been together for 13 years, married for 9, and have only been exploring ethical non-monogamy for a few months. Non-monogamy came up right around the time their son turned two and Taylor realized she had no idea who she was. She describes it as an identity crisis that lead her to becoming resentful of her husband and son. Then her and Andrew teamed up and dug in together researching and finding ways to support, repair, and connect with one another. This led them to the long and thoughtful process of being radically honest with one another and ultimately opening their marriage. It's been no easy task considering they both come from very conservative religious backgrounds, like very religious. (Andrew's father was a Southern Baptist Pastor) They have been very methodical about it all and share a beautiful journey and conversation with us.   Check out the full show notes here.   Join the most amazing community of open-minded humans on the planet!   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Gabrielle is back! It's been just over 100 episodes since we talked to her last on episode 151... You definitely don't have to listen to that episode to get a TON out of this one. She catches you up pretty quick and then we hit the ground running. Just a reminder... Gabrielle is solo poly and has been exploring non-monogamy for a few years. She takes us on a journey of how things have changed in her relationships and life as the pandemic has been shifting. We also talk about jealousy, anxiety, depression, the intersectionality of race and the sex-positive scene in New York City, and so much more. It's a beautiful conversation and we hope you enjoy it!    Check out the full show notes here.   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

CC and Steve are back! We first talked to them way back on episode 84! They're in their early fifties and have been together for over thirty years. They have a mismatch in libido, CC loves exhibitionism, and wouldn't you know it, Steve loves being a voyeur! They discovered this a few years ago and began exploring a hotwife dynamic together. In fact, we would say it's probably the "purest" form of hotwifing we've ever seen. At the same time, it's about way more than just the sex... We have a wonderful conversation about how they got here and what's changed over the last few years since we spoke. Enjoy!   Check out the full show notes here.   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/

Eka is from Portugal and is an AMAZING storyteller! This interview is really much better described as Eka sharing her life story with us and it is beautiful. She's in her mid-thirties and has been exploring ethical non-monogamy for over a decade. She has also just welcomed a new baby into her life! This conversation covers so many incredible topics, but the overall takeaway is to embrace life... We have no idea what's coming our way. Embrace it. Enjoy it. Live it!   Check out the full show notes here.   Skip the ads and sign up for the Premium Feed!   Click here to order your very own NNM shirt! Click here to join our upcoming Virtual Meet and Greets! Join Our Patreon Community! $10 Off - Online STI Testing https://www.normalizingnonmonogamy.com/