About PLAB Group

PLAB IS DISSOLVED

This page is maintained for historical reference only. There are many good questions and answers here, which we thought were important to keep available. As it stands, PLAB was a failed effort. Identifying information about our former partners have been changed to respect their privacy. We hope that something on these pages helps you, reader, in creating a community of support and love in your life.

What was PLAB GROUP?

We were a family of choice living in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) area of Minnesota.

PLAB Group existed from August 2003 to May 2004.

Who are we?

Previous to our forming a collective family, we were two engaged male-female couples.

Gregg and Cat have been dating since 2001, practicing consensual non-monogamy since October 2001, and will be got married in July 2004.

Beth and Jack have been dating since 2000, practicing consensual non-monogamy since July 2003, and were married in 2004.

Individually (as pairs) we discovered consensual non-monogamy, and met at a dinner party, hosted by swinger/poly (yes, the combination exists!) mutual friends of ours.

We are all young, Anglo, and politically left-wing. Three of us self-identify as bisexual, to various degrees (2-2's and a 3 – guess who is who and win a prize!) on the Kinsey Scale.

We hesitate to describe ourselves as polyamorous. We view our current long-term situation as exceptional, and far outside what any of us had ever intended. Indeed, we would not have this family of choice if it were with other people. We are also unhappy with all the baggage and misconceptions that come with the term "polyamorous".

Individually,

Gregg is a grad student at the U of Minnesota School of Public Health. He and C. are also the owners of Coppertone Studios, an intimate and erotic photography studio for couples and singles.
Cat is an MLIS student, and the only native Minnesotan in our little group.
Beth is a graduate student in psychology at a local University.
Jack works in IT.

We are *NOT* the PLAB Group concerned with random number generation! Sorry for the disappointment. Although, if you do need a pseudo-random DNA sequence generator, we have you covered.

Why did we create this page?

We are just beginning on our family journey. We wanted to document the process as it happens, and describe some of the obstacles we've been dealing with. We hope these experiences, tips, and solutions will come in handy for others.

Every week we are learning new things about what it means to commit to a family of choice. We learn about ourselves, conflict resolution, and communication. We hope that by documenting our experiences, we can save people the pain of "reinventing the wheel".

Highlights of Other Pages

FAQ

Read some of the Frequently Asked Questions about the PLAB Group on the FAQ page.

How did we meet?
Who sleeps with whom? How do we decide which bed to end up in?
Kids and families of choice...are you having any?
Budgeting
Do you live together?
Coming out
Did you ever consider just switching partners?
Do we think we're better/more evolved/advanced than traditional monogamous couples?
Holidays and/or family of origin issues
Are we all going to keep our names?
What does PLAB stand for?
What do you guys look like?
Are you still swingers?
How do you know you're right for each other?

Glossary

Confused about what we mean by certain terms? Go to the Glossary.

Legal Matters

Homebuying (1)
Homebuying (2)
Buying Communal Property
Charters and Contracts

Essays / Opinions / Thoughts / Politics

Polys and Swingers
Naming and Framing?

What to call our partners? Our others?
What to call ourselves?

Bi Activism

BiCities
BiAmerica

the pathologizing of the poly/swinger lifestyle
sex positivity
Comprehensive Sex Ed
gay marriage, group marriage, chair marriage
gays, atheists, saints, and scouts
our fears

Forum

PLAB Web Forum: Ask Questions! Get Answers!

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