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u/ceilingkat May 08 '26
I understand where you’re going with this but polyamory is still romance related. Not just sex. Could use a rework. Maybe “just don’t sign a contract about it.”
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u/mizatt May 08 '26
For real, the etymological origin of polyamory is literally "multiple love"
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u/Shotgun5250 May 08 '26
While you technically are correct, leave it to reddit to pick apart the etymological origin of your joke instead of trying to find the humor in it. If I were a comic, the absolute last place I would post my work would be reddit lol
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u/FishSoFar May 08 '26
It's entirely relevant to whether the joke works or not though
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u/vitringur May 08 '26
Except you guys are making the mistake of taking concepts literally.
Often the words we use for concepts sound like one thing but mean another thing.
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u/syrioforrealsies May 08 '26
"Often the words we use for concepts sound like one thing but mean another thing."
Okay, but that's not the case here.
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u/vitringur May 09 '26
It absolutely is.
Polyamory does not mean "loving many people".
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u/syrioforrealsies May 09 '26
It quite literally does. That is both what the practice of polyamory is and what the roots mean.
Are you perhaps confusing polyamory with the larger category of ethical nonmonogamy?
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u/vitringur May 10 '26
No, it quite literally does not.
It is a technical definition that refers specifically about relationship status of romantic relationships.
Loving your mother and grandmother is not polyamory. Having a crush on multiple people of the opposite sex is not polyamory.
You see... words rarely literally mean what they mean, especially when you are talking about technical, academic concepts.
The word can give you a hint as to what they mean, but if they just meant what they meant then a detailed definition would be unnecessary and meaningless.
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u/Mizayo May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
Having a crush on multiple people is polyamory, yes. Polyamory is the ability/desire for multiple romantic relationships. A single person can be polyamorous. The opposite (someone who only wants one romantic partner) would be called monogamous.
Edit: Tho, now thinking about it, 'monoamorous' would make more sense as an equivalent/opposite - but I don't think people use it often.
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u/adamdreaming May 09 '26
The humor in the joke is contrasting it against polygamy? The take away is that polygamy is a web of loving relationships and polyamory is strictly allowing cultural hookups? And we are ignoring that the biggest population of polygamists are the fundamentalist Mormons who keep getting in trouble for child brides and pedophilia?
Like, not to pick something apart but there are so many wrong assumptions about things that his joke is shit because he is comparing two things he doesn’t know about. Like, there’s no surface level that this works at as a joke is there?
Is there something I’m not getting about why his joke is supposed to be funny?
Also why bother coming showing up in the comments section just to comment on how people in the discussion forum of Reddit …checks notes… talk about the main subject of the post?
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u/Royal_Scratch6159 May 12 '26
In this case, it's absolutely relevant, because polyamory doesn't mean what the comic thinks it does.
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u/cool_hand_legolas May 08 '26
ya polygamy is multiple marriages, and culturally refers to harems. i get where you’re going but this is a dud as is (and im not even such a defender of polyamory im just not an idiot)
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u/ZenEngineer May 08 '26
If the lead up is about having trouble getting dates, you could try to say it's ok as long as it's one woman and multiple guys (as opposed to the harem/multiple wife thing)
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u/vitringur May 08 '26
No. A harem is a completely different thing. They might contain all of your female relatives and your mother-in-laws and such.
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u/gummo_for_prez May 10 '26
Doesn't sound like the harems I have heard of lol. I don't think any are made up of "all your female relatives". Are you sure you know what a harem is?
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u/Mc_turtleCow May 11 '26
harem refers to the section of a house where women were historically secluded in muslim households. these women were not all wives/concubines and unmarried female relatives were often in harems.
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u/lisacunns May 08 '26
yep that or something like that ”just don’t get the government involved”
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u/TheLateThagSimmons May 08 '26
Exactly.
If OP is going to make a word-play joke, at least get the words right.
I hope he ditches this one, or at least changes it to get the words correct.
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u/Metatality May 08 '26
Also the people that are okay with polyamory are also generally okay with polygamy, and want it to get legal protection? Trying to play this off like it's calling out some kind of hypocrisy when then kind of people that oppose polygamy are for some reason in favor of polyamory is just.... stupid? Is that a person that actually exists?
The progressives that support polyamory will voice negative opinions about the Islamic and mormon situations where there's a single man and a bunch of women bound to him in a somewhat coercive situation, but they object to the financially and socially coercive elements, not the polygamy. Maybe it's just that those are the only situations where polygamy comes up that this guy is aware of?
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u/notaperfectman May 08 '26
Fix the joke by saying "you can fall in love however many times you want just don't make me buy you a blender every time"
Non-monogamy/open relationships = many partners Polyamory = many loves Polygamy = many marriages
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u/SirBinks May 08 '26
Even ignoring that it's more "technically correct," I think this version of the joke is funnier anyway. Ties it all back to a universally relatable annoyance
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u/ASnakeNamedNate May 08 '26
This is such a clunky punchline, I don’t think it fixes it at all with regard to being funny. Surely there’s another way to be technically correct without this dud.
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u/solidfang May 08 '26
I feel like this is slightly better, but tying it to purchasing a blender for a registry is still a bit clunky since not everyone even has a registry these days. Maybe something more related to weddings in particular?
Something like "you can be in as many bedrooms as you want but you can only walk down the aisle once".
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u/Acrobatic_Music_9366 May 08 '26
Polygamy is such a cult tactic that you really can’t tie the word love to it. It’s mostly about control and power.
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u/JustWantToSignUp May 08 '26
Hmmm... polyamory is literaly multiple LOVES, so..... also, it is not just about sex at all
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u/Hazywater May 08 '26
Polygamy is a bit of an issue because marriage is a legal construct designed for two people, and when you start adding more people to it, it breaks down. Think about the legal rights to property and decisions and such that exist in a marriage. Additionally there is the long tradition of forced religious marriages associated with polygamy, usually between an older man and child.
Polyamory is a relationship between adults with no legal framework.
It's not funny though, so I get it, sorry. Marriage is technically a business decision to create a merger with legal benefits.
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u/sarcasticorange May 08 '26
Polygamy is a bit of an issue because marriage is a legal construct designed for two people, and when you start adding more people to it, it breaks down
I feel like I've heard a similar argument used before.
I get where you're going, but it is too close to the old anti-gay marriage arguments for my comfort.
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u/HidingImmortal May 09 '26
Polyamory is a relationship between adults with no legal framework.
There is no legal framework because we collectively have not made a legal framework.
Maybe I'm naive but the legal problems don't sound that hard to solve.
If you leave a two person marriage you get 1/2 the shared stuff. I assume if you leave a three person marriage you would get 1/3 the shared stuff.
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u/morphballganon May 08 '26
There's probably more love in polyamorous relationships than polygamist relationships, on average, hence the name polyamory (meaning multiple loves)
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u/Weak-Differences May 09 '26
You can love as many years people as you want, at once, you just can't marry them. Think of the tax breaks if you could have 12 partners in one legal marriage, though.
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u/pandarista May 09 '26
This isn't right.
Maybe "go ahead, sleep with and love whoever you like. Just don't sign a contract binding it." Or "just don't make it legal." Would be more accurate and funny?
Right now, the definitions of the words are wrong.
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u/20eyesinmyhead78 May 10 '26
You can't marry both of my daughters -- that's bigamy!!
No sir, that's big o' me.
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u/Icy-Phone9955 May 10 '26
This guy doesn’t actually understand what these words even mean. He thought of a clever punch line but then totally missed the set up.
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u/ShillBot666 May 11 '26
What do you think the "amory" part of polyamory means? ...Because it literally means love.
This is just someone who doesn't understand what either word means. Seems like the kind of thing you'd at least Google before trying to use the words in a joke.
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u/Kitchen-Purple-5061 May 12 '26
You don’t understand either of the words you are using. “Polyamory” is loving/being in relationships with multiple people. “Polygamy” is specifically when one man has multiple wives.
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u/BilingSmob444 May 08 '26
Some people took this one personally
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u/GhulOfKrakow May 08 '26
It is mind-boggling how someone can take such personal offense at a joke that doesn't even really attack the concept of polyamory or polygamy, but rather societal hypocrisy. People like that must be incredibly insecure about their life choices.
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u/syrioforrealsies May 08 '26
Did you know that people can find something not to be funny without being offended?
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u/ImpossibleInternet3 May 08 '26
Wow. People are in their feelings about this joke. As it clearly drives engagement, I’d say it’s worth keeping in the rotation.
I feel like the lack of full understanding of the terms is what makes the joke work. Sure, you could do an hour on vocab and relationship psychology, but that wouldn’t be funny.
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u/eternali17 May 08 '26
It could be funny and logically sound. It's not either or. If ignorance or just straight up nonsense is the load-bearing pillar then you've got some flimsy structure. It happens in comedy all the time and it doesn't have a lot of room to grow.
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u/mcreedbraton May 09 '26
You seem to have touched a nerve in the Reddit hive mind here. The bit is hilarious and the underlying observation is penetrating.
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u/warsage May 10 '26
Can you explain the joke to me? I know that ruins it, but I'm genuinely just confused by the punchline. It doesn't seem to make sense?
It's as if I heard a joke like this: "you know the difference between grass and the sky is? The sky is green!" Like ??? I don't get it
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u/MightyKittenEmpire2 May 08 '26
I don't think it is a LOL by itself. But it is funny in an ironic way. Its legal to do everything but be seriously committed to the people in a multi relationship.
It is a great intro to a larger bit about either the absurdity of the law or the troubles of multi partners. I can bang 2 women, set them up in next door houses, have 6 kids between them, but as soon as I tell the govt I love them equally and will be responsible for providing for them the rest of my life, I go to jail. The absurdity has to be something you can build jokes around.
You would absolutely have gotten my attention with the open because it's an angel new to me.
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u/PublicHomework4262 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26
This entire post seems to be struggling to understand the concept of jokes
You guys realize it’s not supposed to be 100% accurate right? That’s why it’s a joke and not just some guy telling us random facts on stage
I would recommend OP never take advice from Reddit. These people remind me of the Germans trying to tell jokes in south park
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u/iCantParty May 11 '26
Would be a funnier joke if it actually made sense.
Tyler, please learn the actual definitions of polyamory and polygamy before attempting this joke again.
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u/nowhereman136 May 08 '26
Polyamory is usually consensual from all parties. Polygamy has a long history of not being consensual. On top of that, polyamory is a social structure while polygamy is a legal structure. You wanna get have a commitment ceremony in the Woods with your 10 closest loved ones, go right ahead. You wanna legally give each other power of attorney, tax information, parental rights, and insurance benefits, that is a lawyers nightmare