Polyamory

Polyamory Polyamory Polyamory By Maeve Maddox I learn a great many new words as I cruise the Web collecting examples of usage for my posts. This week I learned polyamory: polyamory: the fact of having simultaneous close emotional relationships with two or more other individuals, viewed as an alternative to monogamy, especially in regard to matters of sexual fidelity; the custom or practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the knowledge and consent of all partners concerned. The adjective is polyamorous. An article in The Atlantic describes the living conditions of three people who practice polyamory: All three live there together, but they aren’t roommates- they’re lovers. Or rather, Jonica and Michael are. And Sarah and Michael are. And so are Sarah and whomever she happens to bring home some weekends. And Michael and whomever he might be courting. They’re polyamorous. According to the Atlantic article, Polyamorous people still face plenty of stigmas, but some studies suggest they handle certain relationship challenges better than monogamous people do. This new demographic has already acquired a shortened form in headlines: Poly demographic survey in the  UK What Do Polys Want?: An Overview of the 2012 Loving More Survey Academic papers are being written on the polyamorous life style: Not Monogamous? Not a Problem: A Quantitative Analysis of the Prevalence of Polyamory    The words polyamory and polyamorous show up on the Ngram Viewer in the 1980s, rising precipitately in the 1990s. Here are some more familiar terms used to describe various types of sexual relationship that differ from monogamy: polyandry polygamy bigamy extramarital sex adultery infidelity cuckoldry fornication Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingPeople versus PersonsCharles's Pen and Jesus' Name