1/26/16
Top 10 Reasons for Being – and Staying – NON-Monogamous

We ran the lighthearted post called “Top 10 Reasons for Being – and Staying – Monogamous” as encouragement for those people who choose to be in exclusive, long-term relationships. Some readers took it as an indictment of non-monogamy, which wasn’t our intention at all. To prove it to you, here are 10 points in favor of the other side of this relationship coin. Both monogamousmonogamy and non-monogamy have their pros and cons; in both the previous post and the one below, we’ve tried to focus on the pros. Neither is an attempt at telling you how to be, but rather an encouragement of who you are and how you choose to be.

Monogamy has had its turn, so let’s give non-monogamy a chance. In a culture dominated by fundamentalist religious values, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the chorus of slut-shaming that arises when the topic of simultaneous multiple partners comes up. But polyamory has its privileges. Here are 10 reasons why responsible non-monogamy might work for you.

1. It’s natural. Check out the book “Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality” by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá. Monogamy didn’t arise until fairly late in human history, with the notion that wives and children were the property of the husband.

2. Our culture is awash in it. The fact that terms like divorce, cheating, adultery, infidelity, slut, player, etc and industries like prostitution and pornography exist at all is a testament to the fact that sexual variety is a basic human need for many people.

3. It takes a village. Families can reap significant benefits from sharing the all-consuming workload of parenting among a number of loving, devoted adults. Wouldn’t it be nice, when you’re exhausted and drained, or have no clue how to deal with a particular crisis, for there to be more than one other person in the house who can help?

4. Variety can be hot. C’mon, ‘fess up: Don’t you sometimes fantasize about someone else, even if you’re committed to someone you love dearly? Holy rollers tell us that fantasies (and masturbation) are the same as adultery. Wouldn’t it be better to be in a relationship where the way you are is OK and you didn’t have to hide it from your partner?

5. Jealousy and possessiveness can be toxic emotions. Committed relationships are best when we take the risk to be intimate and vulnerable. But there is no requirement to hand over to any other person the power to completely devastate us if they have a fling with another lover. Allowed to run rampant, jealousy and possessiveness lead to emotional and physical abuse, and sometimes even murder. If jealousy is tearing you apart, it’s a mental health issue and therapy could probably do some good.

6. Human sexual orientation is fluid. If you get deep satisfaction from shared loving with more than one gender, lifelong monogamy would have you pick one and forever abandon any others. Non-monogamy doesn’t make you choose.

7. Tight sexual boundaries lead to profound frustration. If you’re lucky, you grow and change as the years pass. Your sexual needs and wants are part of that very natural process, but there’s no guarantee that they’ll evolve in lockstep with your partner’s. Ask prostitutes how many of their clients come to them asking for things their partners refuse to do for them. With non-monogamy, you don’t have to choose between never getting those needs or wants satisfied and throwing away the entire relationship, just for the freedom to find the kind of sex you want with someone else. You can have those needs satisfied while letting your partner maintain any boundaries he or she feels are essential.

8. The more the merrier. Some people are turned on by the thought of their lover having sex with another person, and there are, of course, many other fantasies and desires that involve more than one person in the bed at a time. Open relationships allow you the freedom to go there.

9. Bad things can happen to good people. Disease, accidents, and mental health problems can rob a person of the desire or ability to function sexually. Why condemn their loving partner to a sexless, or dramatically limited, love life from that point forward? Openness and flexibility in the relationship at that point would probably be much better for all involved.

10. Extra scrabble partners.

Wanna hear the argument for the other side?
Top 10 Reasons for Being – and Staying – Monogamous



22 Comments

  1. To be blunt, the most effective method of doing something dominates. As a central economic tenant states “A firm that does not seek to maximize profit is either eliminated by competition or bought out by firms that do seek out that goal”. Polygamy was the mode of a majority of primitive human societies and as society grew and developed monogamy began to dominate. Why is that?
    1) Raising a kid is extremely resource intensive ($200,000).
    2) Humans are sickly and weak, frequently requiring a social network to survive (concrete family structure).
    2a) For a concrete family structure there needs to be a clear view of priorities and who comes first.
    3) People are jealous.

    All of that together means polygamy causes wasted emotion energy, blurs who takes priority when it comes to distributing resources, and results in inferior children. If monogamy wasn’t the best way, monogamous societies would not have taken over societies with a more open view of relations.

  2. 1. I’m pretty sure Monogamy is natural too at least in the context that it is in our nature under environmental and societal situations. I think you mean non monogamy is more primitive?

    2.”divorce, cheating, adultery, infidelity, ” This exists in non-monogamous relationships as well.

    3. Not sure what validity there is in this one, seeing as you can have family members or close friends help you through crisis too.

    4. Not everyone looks at porn, but it’s a fair point that people can appreciate others beauty.

    5. I’m pretty sure you’re being intimate and vulnerable in monogamous relationships as well, seeing as you’re letting someone know who you truly are and essentially living and growing together with that individual. Are saying that it is more prevalent in non monogamous relationships because you’re adding in other factors?

    6. This is up to the individual.

    7. Sounds like a personal problem between the individual and their S/O, I don’t believe adding others will strengthen anything though.

    8. Fantasies are just that though, imagination without repercussions and risks that change the dynamic.

    9. It sounds like you’re saying monogamous couples aren’t open and flexible, that’s not the case plenty of monogamous couples are open and honest to each other about their feelings, and discuss matters all time, but assuming you mean sexually there are always ways to adjusts.

    10. Scrabble ain’t exclusive to polygamous people. 😛

    1. “Not everyone looks at porn, but it’s a fair point that people can appreciate others beauty.”

      I fully agree with this. Its like Museum rules:- “Appreciate the art, but don’t touch it”.

      ” I don’t believe adding others will strengthen anything though.”

      There is research that shows that open relationships tend to do worse than monogamous relationships wrt relationship satisfaction, commitment, passionate love, sexual and emotional fulfillment, etc.

      Overall, I really liked your answer as it does highlight the fact that mono people have the same amount of support that non-mono people do and that novelty in non-monogamous relationships is overrated as in non-mono relationships, novelty wears off pretty quickly.

  3. So if you have kids, do you keep it hidden from them? I’m wondering how damaging, if at all, it would be if young kids knew their parents had “special friends” on the side.

  4. Interesting article. My wife brought her best friend into our marriage because she was not into some of the sexual things that I was into. As one poster said, she was glad for her space. Our triad lasted 28 years and our marriage is now in its 43rd year. Funny how it did not seem strange or out of the ordinary while we were living a poly lifestyle. It was just our normal life. We provided each other with something that any of us could provide on our own. We have had a glorious and wonderful life.

  5. Carole, not everyone subscribes to the same spiritual beliefs and ideology you do, so religious mores have no place here. Sometimes,for whatever reason, some people cannot have just one person fulfill all their physical needs, so being with more than one person is what suits them. As long as one is open and honest with all their partners, and there is agreement, it can be a very beneficial arrangement. It’s all about honesty, respect, and agreement. It is possible to romantically be in love with more than one person.

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