Polyamory is known as consensual non-monogamy. It seems to be growing in popularity among young people who believe that no animals (including humans) were made to be monogamous. To enter into a polyamorous relationship, one must be open about their needs and wants. Although polyamory means being loved or loving multiple people, it takes supreme trust, communication, and intentional clarity
It comes in many shapes and forms such as
Open Relationships
In layperson’s terms, it involves “cheating” on your partner, but they are aware and do not mind, and do the same to you. An open relationship is not always the same as a polyamorous relationship, because open relationships are mostly sexual. Instead of committing to one partner and sleeping with others, polyamorous individuals commit themselves to multiple partners.
Solo Polyamory
Here, the person identifies as polyamorous but is not currently in multiple relationships. But all those involved reject monogamy as stifling, or oppressive, or simply not to their taste.
Polyamorous people reject the end game of romantic monogamy and disdain so-called “relationship escalators” (Society’s expectation that couples will cycle through selfies, marriage, and kids). Instead, they let their relationships flow where the current takes them. In our increasingly uncertain times, it makes sense that polyamory is popular.
There’s a difference between polyamory and polygamy though:
Polyamory
It involves people engaging in emotional, romantic, and sometimes sexual relationships with more than one person at a time. Sometimes it can include triads or quads which means three or four people, respectively, engaging in relationships with one another. Most polyamorous relationships involve pairs of people and fewer group relations. Polyamory is not all about sexual intimacy and secrecy. It is important to note that it is also about emotional intimacy with more than one person at the same time. In polyamorous relationships, awareness and consent are provided by all involved.
Polygamy
Another difference between the two is that polygamy does tend to only refer to the act of a man having more than one wife and it is, therefore, based on gender. It is also generally true that polygamy has a tendency to last longer like normal marriages, but with polyamory, it is more about the moment and living in it and this means it may last for weeks, months or even years. Depending on the people involved, which is similar to swinger couples or open relationships. The term “till death do us part” certainly only applies to polygamy and over a lifetime.
