Open relationships, also known as polyamorous, are gaining wider attention and acceptance. Many people, all too aware of rising divorce rates, the potential of cheating spouses, and the reality of multiple-partner relationships in other cultures, are examining poly as a viable alternative to monogamy.
Approximately 50 percent married women and 60 percent of married men will have an extramarital affair at some time in their marriage. Other sources suggest that 57 percent of people have used the Internet to flirt, 38 percent of people have engaged in explicit online sexual conversation, 50 percent of people have talked on the phone with someone they first chatted with online, and 31 percent of people have had an online conversation that has led to in-person sex.
The most important thing to remember as increased attention is turned on the viability of both monogamy and polyamory is that neither is superior.The advantages of polyamory include greater variety in one’s emotional and sexual life. The disadvantage involves having to manage one’s feelings of jealousy, greater exposure of oneself and partners to human immunodeficiency virus and other sexual transmitted infections, and limited time with one partner. Monogamy is advantageous in the sense that it is legally sanctified. The drawbacks of this type of marriage are the biological restraints of only mating with one partner. Eachof these relationships has their own unique drawbacks and benefits, and in the end, it’s down to each couple and the comfort level of the individuals involved.