Why you shouldn’t (and should) be monogamous | Against the New Taboo. By Tauriq Moosa Why should you only have sex with the person you are in a relationship with? After all, there exist many successful relationships involving people having passionate interactions, of whatever kind, with people other than their primary partner. This is done with their primary partner’s knowledge and consent and, presumably, consenting to their primary partner doing the same. Whatever name we use - polyamory, ethical or consensual nonmonogamy – it is important to recognise such relationships exist, are fulfilling and successful. Many assume that a relationship can only exist if it is monogamous: in the sense that you can only have sexual relations with one person, with whom you probably share a deeply personal relationship. But these assumptions should be questioned. Trust Trust is essential to relationships.
However, that misses the point entirely. "People in these relationships really communicate. Being nonmonogamous without your partner’s consent isn’t ethical, it’s betrayal. Cheaters Have Higher Risk for STDs than Open Relationships. People who cheat on their partners are more likely to have unsafe sex than those in open relationships who don't need to hide their sexual straying, a new study finds. In the study, people in monogamous relationships who cheated on their partners were less likely to use condoms, and less likely to discuss their history of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) during their sexual digression compared with people in open relationships who had sex with someone other than their primary partner, the researchers said. The results suggest those who are unfaithful have a higher risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease, and possibly transmitting it to their partner, than those in open relationships, the researchers said. Terri Conley, of the department of psychology at the University of Michigan, and colleagues surveyed 308 individuals in monogamous relationships, and 493 people in open relationships who have an agreement with their partner that monogamy is not required.
Polyamory: The Practice of Jealousy Management. Jealousy Management for Love and Profitor, how to fix a broken refrigerator Note: This essay is adapted from a two-part entry that originally appeared in my online journal, the first part of which appears here and the second part of which appears here. Both parts have generated significant commentary, which you can read in my journal. Additional commentary is welcome. Throughout the course of this essay, I use the metaphor of a broken refrigerator as a shorthand for a broken romantic relationship.
"Not to sound flippant, I am reminded of a Letterman joke he told on the Tonight Show (with Carson), about guys that can do anything, and how aggravating they can seem to regular folk: "You're serious? " This essay is an attempt to answer that question with respect to building a relationship without jealousy. Let's assume your relationship is a refrigerator. I'll get back to the fridge in a bit, though. In a relationship, a fear or an insecurity is a symptom of a problem. Take it or leave it. Polyamory Blogs. Forum. The Inn Between. Freaksexual. Polyamory. Alt.polyamory home page. Alt.polyamory Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Polyamory: How To F*** It Up. Polyamory Weekly. Modern Poly | Healthy. Open. Honest. Open marriage incidence. The incidence of open marriage is the frequency with which open marriage occurs. Several definitional issues complicate attempts to determine the incidence of open marriage. People sometimes claim to have open marriages when their spouses would not agree.
Couples may agree to allow extramarital sex but never actually engage in extramarital sex. Some researchers define open marriages in narrower terms than others. Definitional issues[edit] Researchers need clear definitions of open marriage in order to accurately estimate the incidence of open marriage. One issue is that study participants may claim to have open marriages when their spouses would not agree. "Sure we have an understanding. The wife responded quite differently, saying: "We've never spoken about cheating, but neither of us believe in it.
This couple illustrates that partners can disagree about whether or not they have an open marriage. A third issue is that researchers sometimes define open marriages in overly narrow terms. Data on Frequency of Open Relationships. When birth control pills were making Megan’s sex drive almost nonexistent, she told her boyfriend, Colin, what many gay men in a similar position might say to theirs: “If you want to have sex, feel free to sleep with someone else; just don’t tell me about it.”
Last year, after six years together and a year and a half of marriage, Colin’s chronic back pain was making sex less than fun. So he returned the favor: “Sleep around all you want,” he said. “Just don’t do anything stupid, and don’t tell me about it.” That’s how Megan, now 25, and Colin, 26, college sweethearts who live in Minneapolis, came to fashion a committed, nonmonogamous marriage. They don’t flaunt their unconventional lifestyle (they requested that their last name not be used), but they are hardly alone.
Anti-equality right-wingers have long insisted that allowing gays to marry will destroy the sanctity of “traditional marriage,” and, of course, the logical, liberal party-line response has long been “No, it won’t.”