We’re in the middle of a polyamory moment. There’s been an upswing of polyamory publicity, not so much nationally as in a series of localities. And polyamory will go national this spring when Three of Hearts airs on BRAVO. In “Here Come the Brides,”

I have some things to say about an upsurge of polyamory awareness in the New York City area. But can we go further and devise a “geography of polyamory?” To some extent we can.

There are various compilations of links to local polyamory organizations. See, for example, here and here. The first thing we see by comparing these two sets of links is how widespread polyamory is. The practice may concentrate in blue states, but it’s clearly present in red states as well. Notice also that the two sets of links are far from identical. Minnesota and Wisconsin have huge representation in one, but not so much in another. This may mean that the phenomenon is growing. Both lists seem to suggest that the national center of polyamory is the San Francisco Bay Area. That is confirmed by a recent series of articles by Michelle Beaver, run in a number of Bay Area papers.

According to this first article, “East Bay–Big Polyamorous Region,”

the East Bay, especially San Leandro and Hayward, may be national ground zero for openly polyamorous living. There are perhaps 2,000 fairly open polyamorists in the Bay Area, and the concentration makes for regular dinners, movie nights, support groups and parties. In the long term, the growth of a series of geographical pockets across the nation would make political organization likely as well. The Three of Hearts trio knew nothing of any larger poly community and kept their relationship hidden. The question is what will happen when mutual awareness, concentration, and openness grew.

A national polyamory leader notes that while most metropolitan areas have some sort of polyamorous community, Seattle and Dallas are particular centers. Seattle is pretty obvious, but Dallas is a real surprise. Austin would make sense, but Dallas I would never have guessed.

Beaver’s other articles focus on a trio (much like the trio in Three of Hearts), that has been together for twelve years. They have children. Here’s “Two husbands, wife make love stew.” And here’s “Hayward mom bored by daughter’s alternative lifestyle.”

Notice the “virtually normal” theme in the latter piece.

Beaver’s articles appear to have been inspired by a recent polyamory segment on the Montel Williams Show. So this rush of articles in the Bay Area parallels the rush of articles in New York that followed the premiere of Three of Hearts. Publicity in the media spurs local awareness and growth. With Three of Hearts at theaters now and with the film scheduled for BRAVO in the fall, public awareness of polyamory is set to increase.