There is a slow shift happening on some levels of the cultural landscape: as more people become aware of a fluidity in gender identity and sexual orientations, even while those new awarenesses are still political and moral battlegrounds more often than not (and don’t even get me started on the perilous, often fatal journeys facing transteens, and transfolk in general) the awareness means more people are asking questions. My clients come from all over the relationship spectrum: monogamous (faithful or infidelitous), monogamish, swingers, poly-fidelity (limited other partners), hierarchical polyamory, egalitarian polyamory… there are more labels than we know what to do with, and even within the ethical non-monogamy community it is sometimes very hard to get people to both agree on labels, and not pathologize any labels other than their own.
This collection of link sausage isn’t about adopting any particular stance or challenging anyone’s moral belief as a fundamental aspect of their relationship values. But many of the couples in particular who come aboard as clients are asking questions from, “What does it mean to be attracted to someone other than my partner?” or “how do we heal from an affair?” to “how do we safely explore these fantasies?”, “What happens if one of us falls in love with someone else?”, “How do we navigate opening up the relationship to other partners?” and more.
This is a random smattering of articles on topics of infidelity in monogamous culture, polyamory’s feats and foibles, and more.
How Passive Communication Killed My Open Relationship
Why I?m Still in the Polyamory Closet
The Problem with Polynormativity and a summary discussion here.
Monogamy Not Your Thing? Here’s Why You Should Consider An Open Relationship
9 Strategies For Non-Oppressive Polyamory