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What should Polyflexible mean?


Star Bit

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Open to polyamory

or

Open to being attracted to many but not all genders/sexes.

If anything, there's a problem with the prefix Poly as an orientation. I don't think it should be using the same prefix of another semi-orientation because the terms can be read as the sexual and romantic orientations of polyamory. There is the Greek word Pōlla.

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Polyflexible sounds like it should be some form of adhesive or sealing compound.

Is it not just a case of inventing yet another new label?

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A Member Once Known As tqz

Hmm, when referred to people? I'd say contortionists effortlessly playing Twister. First thing that comes my mind.

Also, I've learned not to use the word “flexible” for my personal tastes, interests, or characteristics other than for physical positioning and range of motion, and even then strongly prefacing with “sort of” or “sometimes”. Otherwise, the very next response is an offer to me that I end up refusing (e.g. food or movie or event) and thereby I immediately appear to be not flexible. Seems to me specifically stating my interests or admitting I don't know (perhaps because a particular topic is not on my mind at the time) has been more comfortable and conducive for conversations than saying I'm open or flexible and coming across as disingenuous.

As for what the word “polyflexible” should mean, I think it goes without saying it should mean whatever the person using that word wants it to mean in the specific conversation that person is having at that time. I also think meanings can change from conversation to conversation.

Are you looking to meet people who describe their experiences with this word? Are you looking for people with similar interests as your own for having such experiences? I would think the experiences are much more important than any single word, but maybe you are not interested in participating and are just wanting to hypothesize for the moment. So, what is it that you would like to do with your questioning?

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Polyflexible sounds like it should be some form of adhesive or sealing compound.

Is it not just a case of inventing yet another new label?

Heh, yes, polyflexible is a product. Well, it's not like i invented it. It is being used as the first meaning by some people in the same concept as Heteroflexible and the like, but i also saw the latter used sometimes too so i asked since i couldn't find a thread on it on AVEN.

Are you looking to meet people who describe their experiences with this word? Are you looking for people with similar interests as your own for having such experiences? I would think the experiences are much more important than any single word, but maybe you are not interested in participating and are just wanting to hypothesize for the moment. So, what is it that you would like to do with your questioning?

Simply if i should be using the word. I don't really identify with monogamy/getting angry at sharing (which isn't the norm) so i find mentioning my open mindedness to polyamory just as important as my asexuality and gray-romanticism.

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1 - I do think the term polyflexible isn't as intuitive as it might be, especially since "heteroflexible" is generally used to mean weighted towards hetero. So someone unfamiliar with the term might misunderstand at first blush.

2 - I love how you're always doing posts about language. Keep on keepin' on.

3 - Good to see you able to laugh along a little with Skycaptain's ribbing. You seem totally rad, as the kids say.

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Actually it depends on the definition of heteroflexible you come across; some mean a straight person open to otherwise and others have it as a gay person open to a straight relationship. But as i said, being open to polyamory is how it's predominantly being used.

XD Polyflexible; in reference to polyamory, is even in a book (on the first page of my search results for it; "polyflexible polyamory") I did find Omniamory in those search results but I'm not sure that's any better; as people pointed out, you can't love everything and that's what the word literally means. But i actually only found one person referring to polyflexible as a polyamorous person who's open to monogomy in my brief search (same goes for polyflexible in regard to polysexual/romantic). So i guess i got my answer if i was using it in the right/more popular way. But in either polyamorous interpretation of the word it just means someone who can function in polyamorous or monogamous relationships. Though I've seen some people put it as "being able to operate within many, but not all, of the confines of monogamy" and i don't get what they're trying to mean. Obviously they're saying they're open to polyamory but i just don't get what they're trying to say with the last half of it.

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A Member Once Known As tqz

It sounds like you've come across the word elsewhere, but by starting this thread is seems like you didn't accept the meanings other people have given you for what they were trying to convey to you. So, I'm confused with you starting a thread to get more input but without those individuals from whom the word originated.

Maybe I'm also confused because I think meanings are not in the words, but that meanings reside within the people using the words.

I like the way someone phrased it in another discussion about polysexuality (titled as ploysexuality), in bold:

Yes and when it comes to nb folks the communities I move in would use queer.

I think the meaning of words matter more importantly with whom you're speaking instead of The Official Committee of a Specific Word or Whole Language. That is why I asked your (Star Bit) purpose because you (Star Bit) started a thread asking everyone and anyone what a word might mean anywhere and everywhere. There's no opportunity to understand what a particular person means with a word if there is no person and no conversation going on, it's just a sort of lingua-fiction or story making. So, maybe I should have just assumed that's what you wanted, but…maybe instead you wanted real experiences and started the thread to attract experienced people?

And that leads to why I also asked whether you were interested in becoming involved with people who use those terms, mostly because I assumed if you were already involved then you would have been talking with them and asking them what they meant, thereby learning about real people. Is that an interest of yours? Do you want people with actual experience dropping by and commenting? If so, then maybe one of the relationship targeted forums might get this thread more attention from people with actual experience who might use the term?

This thread has caught my eye, but I don't understand where it's going and so I don't feel comfortable contributing in a direction that wasn't intended or wanted by the OP. I guess in short, I'm wondering whether this is real or fiction, WRT what I have asserted would be real or fiction to me. I have no criticism either way, I'm just wondering about the plans.

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I think the meaning of words matter more importantly with whom you're speaking instead of The Official Committee of a Specific Word or Whole Language. That is why I asked your (Star Bit) purpose because you (Star Bit) started a thread asking everyone and anyone what a word might mean anywhere and everywhere. There's no opportunity to understand what a particular person means with a word if there is no person and no conversation going on, it's just a sort of lingua-fiction or story making.

I dunno - I think that there is probably some space between "lingua-fiction" and use of words in highly specific contexts.

For example, if a community uses the term "antique radiovision" to mean "someone who likes strawberries", I think asking those outside the community whether that term makes sense to them is pretty reasonable. This is even more the case if your goal is to communicate something about how you identify to the world at large.

Obviously communities and individuals are allowed to use whatever terms they please to mean whatever they want. That doesn't mean that all such terms are equally useful in communicating with the outside world. For instance, while vernacular English doesn't really include a word for "someone who likes strawberries", "strawberryphile" probably has a better chance of accurately conveying meaning than "antique radiovision". Thus we might meaningfully say that one of those terms is more useful than the other in that context.

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As i said, i created this thread because there wasn't one on AVEN. If the majority thought it should be used for polysexual/romantic then i wouldn't use it on here.

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  • 4 weeks later...
TheDreamer240

I Currently identify as a Polyamorus HeteroFlexible TransGuy, but I'm only Occasionaly attracted CIS guys or Biological Males.

I think Polyflexible should mean Attracted to most genders but not nessesarally all, like polysexual but occasionally attracted to the other genders you don't necessarily find yourself attracted too.

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I have only every used that term to refer to people who can be equally happy in monoamorous/-gamous and polyamorous/-gamous relationships - thus, referring to their relationship orientation, not to their romantic or sexual orientations.

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