How "out" should poly people be?

[duskysub]

Originally Posted by gatorvol64

I guess I haven't addressed the article...

When meeting new people, we don't try to hide our relationship at all. It's a case of this is my life now. If you want to know me, this is part of who I am. Letting family and others who knew us previously know about this is the hardest. If any of those ask, of course, I will not lie about it.

At this point, my children and my mom and all but one of my sisters know. Except for Gator's parents and siblings, those are the most important people I want to know. I told my family that I do not care which of the extended family on my side knows now that I have told them. Really, I'm getting the attitude of "Do you really think this is the worst thing I could have done with my life?".

How "out" a person should be is up to them and what they are comfortable with. I would hope that they are comfortable enough to not lie if asked directly. Or to even say "Let others live their life" if the topic comes up in general.

My family couldn't handle my religious preference so they are not a factor in how i live my life anymore. The family i have now, the one i've made, is happy that i'm happy and have no problem with it at all. I did recently have to tell a FWB, who isn't in town all the time, it was the only way to explain what he was seeing when he came over....and he asked to join our family! I was actually dreading that cause i've had a few that just weren't comfortable with it and stopped seeing me because they couldn't handle it!

[mwc_mich]

It seems like a pretty simple answer to me. Be as out as you want or need to be. Keeping this side of our life away from our family and friends is what we choose. Its an easier balance than having them know and having to go through the education process with them and knowing that most of them will never understand. They are my family and I want to stay close.

[WesternSwing]

We are almost completely "out", meaning all our family and friends know we are poly and have an open relationship; and some of our coworkers, but not "out" to the point where we use our real names on message boards because of background checks done by potential employers that may discriminate against us for our lifestyle.