Monogamous rela tionships are consid ered the norm. Two people romantically interested in each other looking to share a brighter future with are staple relationships we see in fiction and media. There are, how ever, people that break this norm and create their own consensual love triangle by not choosing a life of monogamy. Instead, non-monogamous relationships fall u n d e r the umbrella of polyamory; relationships that are inclusive of more than one intimate partner with the consent of everyone involved. They are relationships that are distinct from practices like swinging — emphasizing sex with others as only a recreational activity — and includes but not limited to polygamy, sub-relationships and open relationships.

The practice of being in a non-monogamous relationship requires a great amount of trust and dedication to partners as a Reddit user slice_of_pi explained, “Poly relationships are hard, far more so than traditional monogamous ones, because you have a cubed number of relationship issues every time you add someone — my girlfriend and I, for example, have the typical dating things between us, and then there's her relationship with my wife, mine with her husband (we're friends), and then her relationship with my wife.”

For those looking to dive into these relationships, it's important to keep these things in mind and it's also important to distinguish that polyamory is not only about the hook-ups. These bonds need to be passionate and communication has to be constant when a new partner enters or exits. It's essential that people work out the ground rules and agreements from the beginning as secret infidelities are no more or less hurtful than they are to a monogamous couple.

“The single most essential thing is to talk, which is also what sinks most relationships incidentally, but with additional people it's far, far more essential,” said slice_ of_pi. “In my opinion, a lot of ‘poly' relationships with younger people are more an excuse to have multiple casual lovers, and while there isn't anything wrong with that, they aren't deep, meaningful connections. Just because I have a differ- ent frame of reference, it doesn't mean I'm not going to get hurt emotionally, if that makes sense.”

The different types of polyamory can get a little daunting to read but they do properly explain the various types of relationships that exist out there. Breaking the monotony of monogamy, here are the different forms of polyamory explained briefly.

Polygamy: The overarching term for marriage to more than one spouse. Illegal in most countries and mostly but not always focused on one man married to many wives (polygyny instead of polyandry).

Sub-Relationships: Multiple partners distinguished by primary, secondary or sometimes tertiary relationships. Different partners shift in focus based on the current standing of the person.

Polyfidelity: A group with multiple romantic interests in each other will restrict sexual contact to people only within the group. It is different than polygamy, which implies marriage although group marriage is considered to be a polyfidelity type relationship. Polyfidelity is also not considered to fall under the open relationship title because activity and intimacy is limited to only certain partners.

Mono/Poly Relationships: A relationship in which one partner is monogamous and is knowingly with a polyamorous partner.

Geometric Arrangements: A catchall term for any sort of triad or quad relationship. These relationships are defined by each person's mutual interest and activity with each other.

Open relationships: Partners in open relationships permit sexual interactions with people outside of the relationship but may still be considered exclusive emotionally. Swinging is seen as being a part of open relationships however there is debate within these communities as to whether it is necessarily polyamorous due to the fact that it does not include forming romantic connections to people outside of the relationship.

Do these relationships work for everyone? Not necessarily. We're all people with different values and plans in our lives. We actively search companionship because it is literally in our nature to do so. Our fellow great ape kin are not strangers to polyamory so where was it that we strayed off? slice_of_pi closed our discussion with an enthusiastic outlook for the future of polyamory in our societies:

“Poly relationships are definitely not going anywhere — the cable shows devoted to the topic are popular enough that it's appar- ent public tolerance for the subject is changing. Personally, I see no justification for not treating marriage like corporations in property law, because when you get right down to it, that's b a s i c a l l y what they are.”