Just consider...

I am currently helping a friend who is doing research on the Latin American Thai BL community, and I thought I'd try luck here since I know there are quite a few of us.

If you could help us, all you have to do is answer a short survey here: https://forms.gle/vNo5Zu76wU89Btik9

If you're not from Latin America, you can help by reblogging this so we can maybe reach more people.

¡Se buscan fans latinoamericanes del BL!

Actualmente, estoy ayudando a una amiga que está realizando una investigación sobre la comunidad de BL tailandés latinoamericana, y pensé en probar suerte aquí, ya que sé que somos bastantes.

@isuggestpolyamory

there are three of us now,

sit down and shut up because I'm about to learn you a thing

This:

is the ORIGINAL polyamory pride flag. Jim Evans created it in 1995 in fucking MS Paint. Not using hearts was an intentional choice to: avoid stepping on the leather pride flag's toes, allow people to use it without immediately outing themselves to those not in the know, and be easily input into MS Paint. The infinity heart symbol did not exist at the time and certainly wasn't available in MS motherfucking Paint. The color symbolism is blue for honesty, red for love, black⚫ in solidarity for those that cannot be out to the world at large, and gold for the high value of each relationship. sources (x, x)

There are valid complaints that people want a pride flag that does advertise what they are, and that this design is hard on the eyes. However. Many polyamorous people still use this flag to represent themselves, most of them 35+ years old. As a personal favor to me, please do not say you hate this flag. Say the colors are too bright till you're blue in the face, sure. But to openly hate this flag is to disparage your predecessors and denounce your history.

The earliest polyamory pride flag to incorporate the infinity heart symbol that I could find actually made its debut on tumblr in 2016. The infinity heart was established as a polyamory pride symbol by this time. ratlab-art intentionally kept the original color symbolism, while using hues generally considered a little more pleasant to look at.

This one, obviously, set the precedent for numerous other iterations of the same idea -- tweaking the colors, swapping the pi for the infinity heart. I will not be posting all of them, because I doubt I could track them all down anyway. The icon I currently use on this blog is one such iteration. But this one uniquely puts the black stripe in the middle, which does make for a nice contrast with the gold.

and of course

This is the "new poly flag" designed by Red Howell for the polyamproud online vote, which took place in 2022. They call it the "tricolor polyamory pride flag" (presumably, not to distinguish it from the other established flags, but to distinguish it only from the others that were in their run-off) Its symbolism is as follows: the triangle ▶️points forward for progress and is off-center to represent the non-traditional nature of polyamory, white⚪ represents possibility, blue for honestly, magenta for love, purple for unity in the community, gold for perseverance, and obviously the heart for love.

It has garnered controversy, because they kind of... openly disparaged every previous polyamory flag and claim theirs is the one true poly flag. They do still say you can use any flag you like, but the whole vote was predicated on the assumption that no one wanted the existing designs, and no pre-existing designs were included in the vote. And that it was bad to have variants of the same flag, even though you see that with many pride flags, including the rainbow flag. Many old school polyams still don't know this design, let alone that there was a single vote years ago, which they missed. However. This flag has quickly become a popular design, especially among the younger generation. So if you would be so kind, please do not say you hate this flag. Say you're frustrated with how the process of choosing it happened, by all means. But to openly hate this flag is to disparage the next generation and sever yourself from new directions in the community.

finally,

A couple of honorable mentions made by Em Essex in 2019 and Molly Colleen Bennett Wilvich in 2020, respectively. They don't get full write-ups, but they're an additional couple of the more unique (without being downright obscure) flag designs.

✨✨First up Monogamy is Dumb ✨✨

1)Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao Classic story of boy loves girl, girl loves different boy, first boy goes 👀. (Triangles are the strongest shape). Oh and don't forget the heavy sci-fi and giant Mecha. YA novel with enough intrigue for everyone. Rep: Disability

2) The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison. Not a romance novel but. It's big on digging into queerness and identity including a polyam relationship. Heavy fantasy and apocalypse vibes with an older MC. Rep: Disability, Trans

3) Long Way to a Small Angry Planet (Wayfarer Series) by Becky Chambers. Also not a romance but it has a main sapphic romance and the alien partner is from a species that is exclusively polyam. It is all about the value of friendships and is quiet literally about how the real treasure is the friends we made along the way. Rep: Autism

3) Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. (Suggested by the Fiancee). "He is Poly and gay*. You find it everywhere in his books if you know where to look." *Sorry he's not technically gay because according to him that would mean straight people would have to exist.

4) Hunger Pangs by Joy Demorra. Good ol' classic vampire falls in love with a werewolf and they can't help but fall for a mysterious woman. This gets to sit here because it has a non spicy version but... If you want the spice it comes with all the fun of Vampires and BDSM. Rep: Disability, BDSM

🔥🔥🔥 Now for the polyamorous spice. 🔥🔥🔥

6) Sex Wizards Series by Alethea Faust. WHAT. I felt like i should start with the heavy BDSM sex magic book if I'm talking spice. No but seriously some of the best representation of BDSM and healthy polyam in many different ways. And plot somehow. Rep: Non-Binary, Asexual, Disability, Heavy BDSM

7) Rescued my Married Monster Hunters by Ennis Rook Bashe. What if you are a poor monster trying to be human and a sweet couple can't stop doting on you. No one would blame a lil monster for falling for that. Rep: Trans, Disability

8) Pack Saint Clair Series by Thora Woods. Reverse Harem gets much more interesting when the people the MC is getting involved with are an established Polyam Pack (ABO style). Sometimes falling in love with one person means you end up falling for 4. Rep: Mild BDSM, Trauma Recovery

9) Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues. What if Hades/Persephone was healthy and T4T. Super sweet and spicy romance about defying expectations. Rep: Trans, Mild BDSM

10) In the Court of the Nameless Queen by Natalie Ironsides. A bunch of short stories around a Giant Spider queen and the many people who love her. Literally this is a bunch of sapphic porn about a clan of warrior women. It slaps Rep: Trans, Heavy Kink and BDSM

11) The Strongest Shape by Tessa Cardenas. This is in my liked books. And i distinctly remember loving the way it dealt with a new person entering a more established pair. I can not remember anything else besides it was spicy and gay.

Honorable Mentions

These books explore relationships in super queer and non-traditional ways. But might not be considered "polyamory"

12) Psalm for the Wild Built (and the Monk and Robot series) by Becky Chambers. Toe to Tip that's a QPR. It's just a really wholesome book about a robot and a human meeting. Lots of passive polyamory here too (expecially in the second book). To say the least Becky Chambers is great. Rep: Non-Binary, Robots (it/its), Anxiety

13) The City we Became by N.K. Jemison While I am expounding great authors I have to include Jemison's other book which is really all about queer friendship and the importance of have friends. On the backdrop of people becoming the city and fighting Eldritch Monsters Rep: Trans, Asexual Characters

14) The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. Super casual background polyamory by murderbot's humans but it's not into any of that stuff. It is here to cause problems and make friends though. Rep: Robot (it/its), Trauma Recovery, Asexual, Autism

15) The Tarot Sequence by K.D. Edwards. I'm putting this here because it's currently just MLM but there are these big hints being dropped for a Triad. Lots of fun around being shoved into a position of power before you are ready and only having your friends at your back. Rep: Disability, Trauma Recovery

16) Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James. This book is literally indescribable but it tackles gender, relationships and African History in such a nice package I can't help but add it. Rep: Genderqueer/Non-Binary

if you know more gems please add them