I recently read a blog about Esperanto. The author, who is a female states the following:
Regarding Esperanto conferences, "LGBT people are usually well-represented, as are polyamorous people (polyamory was actually kind of my gateway into the Esperanto community)..."
Link to her blog post

Is she saying what I think she is saying? Polyamory? Sounds like these conferences are very taboo. Does Esperanto have a strong sex sub-culture?

I would not say there is a strong sex sub-culture, though people certainly do whatever they do behind closed doors, but I never heard about anyone polyamorous in Esperanto until the last couple years, despite long involvement in Esperanto. However, I know a couple of (Esperanto) people who identify as polyamorous and are vocal about it, or they have been vocal about it in the last couple years. I think they are still a very small minority in the Esperanto world. LGBT people are generally visible and out but I wouldn't call that a strong sex sub-culture.

I would not say that the conferences are taboo at all. It is generally a very family-friendly atmosphere, other than perhaps late night drinking at youth events, but even then, there are ample accomodations made for non-drinkers. It's common for someone to whip out their... guitar. And start playing, and people gather around and sing. There's a certain charming naivety to it.

There is nothing inherently sexual about polyamory. You can be polyamorous and asexual, after all. There is certainly a higher proportion of polyamorous people among young Esperantists than in the general population, to the extent that there was a sizeable group of Esperanto speakers at the last Poly Day in London.

gyrus:There is nothing inherently sexual about polyamory. You can be polyamorous and asexual, after all. There is certainly a higher proportion of polyamorous people among young Esperantists than in the general population, to the extent that there was a sizeable group of Esperanto speakers at the last Poly Day in London.

Maybe this phenomenon could be used to advertise Esperanto. Can you tell more?

Alkanadi:I recently read a blog about Esperanto. The author, who is a female states the following:
Regarding Esperanto conferences, "LGBT people are usually well-represented, as are polyamorous people (polyamory was actually kind of my gateway into the Esperanto community)..."
Link to her blog post

Is she saying what I think she is saying? Polyamory? Sounds like these conferences are very taboo. Does Esperanto have a strong sex sub-culture?

I am polyamorous and "vocal about it". I know quite some people in Esperantujo who also are polyamorous or at least somehow into polyamory. But polyamory is not about sex, so I wouldn't call it a sub sex culture.

I personally know Sophia, the author of the blog post you are refering to. I can really understand what she's talking about. The Esperanto movement is open to off mainstream ideas and accepting people living off mainstream relationships.

Oijos:

gyrus:There is nothing inherently sexual about polyamory. You can be polyamorous and asexual, after all. There is certainly a higher proportion of polyamorous people among young Esperantists than in the general population, to the extent that there was a sizeable group of Esperanto speakers at the last Poly Day in London.

Maybe this phenomenon could be used to advertise Esperanto. Can you tell more?

In which way this would be used to advertise Esperanto?

Probably the idea of "the only one" goes back to legal and juridical problems of ownership and politica fimiliae, i.e. family power structures. In a society based on possession, the idea of more than two people being in a relationship truly renders the concept of possession muddy and hard to define. Especially concerning heterosexual relations, the question arises as to who should inherit property after one person's death. As you know, in the Roman based European system, there is the principal of primogeniture in which usually only the male offspring are considered. How this is regulated in extra-European societies I do not know other than what I have read in Bajin's "Familio" about such matters in China.

Oijos:

gyrus:There is nothing inherently sexual about polyamory. You can be polyamorous and asexual, after all. There is certainly a higher proportion of polyamorous people among young Esperantists than in the general population, to the extent that there was a sizeable group of Esperanto speakers at the last Poly Day in London.

Maybe this phenomenon could be used to advertise Esperanto. Can you tell more?

Oh, great! Let's alienate even MORE of the mainstream population by inviting even MORE crackpots and stranguloj into Esperantujo!

orthohawk:

Oijos:

gyrus:There is nothing inherently sexual about polyamory. You can be polyamorous and asexual, after all. There is certainly a higher proportion of polyamorous people among young Esperantists than in the general population, to the extent that there was a sizeable group of Esperanto speakers at the last Poly Day in London.

Maybe this phenomenon could be used to advertise Esperanto. Can you tell more?

Oh, great! Let's alienate even MORE of the mainstream population by inviting even MORE crackpots and stranguloj into Esperantujo!

I would describe myself esperantically as a 'revenanto' - I gave it up in the mid-90s.

There were three main reasons for this:

1. more pressing studies at uni
2. much as I enjoyed E-o I couldn't find a practical use for it
3. in the E-o circles I was moving in too many crackpots were "pushing their wares" onto me (I'm very mainstream in most things).

Taking the principle 'live and let live' as good starting point, I wouldn't like to run around trying to "mainstreamise" all the Esperantists I meet. Likewise, I take umbrage when folk try to push their stuff onto me. By all means let us use our lovely language to communicate our insights into life, the universe and everything, but at least let's put them on the self-service counter.

For the record, I like to think of crackpots, not as people with eccentric or unconventional views, but with eccentric (read: damned annoying) ways of prosyletising cornered victims (often between the hot water urn and the table with the biscuits on it).

orthohawk:Oh, great! Let's alienate even MORE of the mainstream population by inviting even MORE crackpots and stranguloj into Esperantujo!

So polyamorous people are crackpots to you?