Back in October I caught the flu. The real deal. Influenza. I lay on my sofa, drooling on my pillow, shivering under blankets and watching reality tv. I am not generally a fan of reality tv. I tend to watch it on very rare occasions, but being sick, I decided to give Sister Wives<\/em><\/a><\/strong> a go.<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=399e_xSgpCI<\/a>\n I watched the first two seasons straight through, broken up by naps and potty breaks. I expected I\u2019d dislike Kody Brown and that I\u2019d be generally annoyed by all the Mormon cheeriness. Instead, I saw a family that works, and as much as I rooted for their courage to come on the show, I also mourned for what the show was doing to them.<\/p>\n Not merely because the government was threatening them with investigation (and as a Pagan I completely understand their freaking out over that) but because it invaded their lives in very real ways. They said things on camera they may never have said to each other before and I\u2019m pretty sure Kody got the rough end of that with his wives expressing doubts, concerns and disagreements in such a public forum. The children shared things with millions of strangers that they normally wouldn\u2019t have. And as always with reality television, drama was created where it perhaps never existed.<\/p>\n As much as I applaud their courage, and as much as I think the show has been positive for alternative families in general, I think the show is harming the Brown family. Sometimes when the media approaches, it\u2019s better to say no. I spoke to Terisa Greenan<\/strong><\/a>, the force behind Petal Films<\/strong><\/a> and 3 Dog Pictures<\/strong><\/a>, about her experience dealing with the media attention from her polyamory web series Family<\/em><\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n There has been some negative backlash associated with being so out and open about polyamory, and with becoming something of a spokesperson for the community, as I have, but the positive feedback and the rewards I have enjoyed have been far greater than the negativity. I wouldn\u2019t change it for anything. I would absolutely do it again. Having said that, though, I\u2019ll add that we have stayed away from certain types of publicity. We have had over a dozen offers to star in a reality show and have declined them all. Just this month we opted to do a print interview in Details magazine, but chose not to do TV interviews with Anderson Cooper or Inside Edition. Certain TV formats strike us as sensationalistic and we don\u2019t want to be a part of those.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Featuring the music of Christopher Bingham, of Gaia Consort<\/strong><\/a> and Bone Poets Orchestra<\/strong><\/a>, the series focused on a poly family in Seattle, their relationships with each other, with their families, neighbors and somewhat shifty documentary filmmakers. I was a huge fan from episode 1, enthralled by the storyline and fantastic actors, and more than a little heartbroken when it ended.<\/p>\n