I would like to begin by thanking all my partners.. ;)
Just kidding. It’s not an Oscar acceptance speech but it is fair to say that without their support and blessing I, not only couldn’t have spoken so honestly on the show this morning, but wouldn’t have experience from which to speak.
Guys – you’re all ridiculously awesome for every reason imaginable.

So, as per my last post I spoke live this morning on Radio 4′s “Woman’s Hour”, about open relationships. You can listen to the short debate here:
Radio 4: Open Relationships

Frankly I think the arguments levelled against it were low hanging fruit, and I am kicking myself for not saying many of the things I now realise would have diffused the trajectories sooner, but for a short conservative piece I think it went okay.

It was, however, clear to me that I wasn’t what they were expecting. My favourite comment by Dr Pam highlights nicely my point (without me needing to divulge other reactions to my arrival at the green room):

“Amanda, you are the exception to the rule; you are articulate and on top of things”

I’m not saying it was a set up, it was a pleasingly balanced argument, but there was clearly an agenda and my refusal to play along was, I genuinely feel, of equal interest and annoyance.

Regardless of any of this, in the last fortnight we’ve been in the Guardian and on Radio 4 and this says a great deal about the profile of alternative relatiionship structures. It may not be common, it may not even be accepted, but it is being discussed and for me that’s the biggest barrier.

Certainly the ripples of comments online seemed to indicate that the debate was heated, and frequently opposing, but not needlessly dismissive. There’s discussion to be had, traction to be gained, and I guess that’s something I’m becoming interested in. I never could resist a good debate, particularly one with an audience!

So, all in, I’m pleased. I hope it’s the start of something more – perhaps for me, likely for the wider community. I do, however, feel like we need to take ownership of the information that’s out there. The data is there to support this as a healthy and valid life choice. Let’s start using it. Vitally though, and as I said to so many people on Twitter today following the broadcast, I’m not anti monogamy in the slightest – it is just my sincere hope that people in monogamous relationships actively choose to be by rejecting known alternatives.

More soon, I suspect ..