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Polyamory, polyfidelity, and other stable non-monogamy

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Profiles

  • Alexandra Mikhailovna Domontovich (1872 - 1952)
    Marriage: Alexandra Mikhailovna Kollontai was a Russian Communist revolutionary, first as a member of the Mensheviks , then from 1915 on as a Bolshevik . In 1922, Kollontai was appointed a diplomati...
  • Emma Goldman (1869 - 1940)
    Emma Goldman (June 27 , 1869 – May 14, 1940) was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in N...

The goal of this project will be to try to add and organise notable poly individuals and their families.

Terminology:

Non-monogamy any form of relationship that is not based upon a marriage of exactly two individuals.

Polyamory a form of non-monogamy, where individuals are in the loving relationships with more than one person.

V is a form of relationship, where one individual is "together" with two persons, each of whom are only partnered with that one individual.

Triad is a form of relationship, where three persons are together and each one is partnered with the other two. According to folklore, this is the least stable of all the forms out there (and eventually ends up as a V), but, of course, there are many who make it work.

W, star, etc, are sometimes used to describe the "shape" of the relationship as well.

Exclusive and open relationship. A relationship is considered exclusive when people in it agree to not seek any other partners. For example several people can live together and be partnered to each other in some arrangement, but no outside person can enter the relationship without the approval of all of them. An open relationship is the opposite of that, in it people that are part of the family can see other relationships or sexual partners (in fact there are monogamous open relationships). Often relationships fall somewhere between the two, where people discuss and set up their own boundaries.

Primary, secondary, tertiary, etc. These are the terms that are used by some (but not all) to describe the specific relationship "level" between any two persons in a relationship. Primary is often associated with living "as a family", sharing household, spending time together "by default", etc. Secondary may have a specific days, where they come over, but they may not (for example) expect some long term changes from their partner. When tertiary exist, they commonly will come to some arrangement, and will only be "related" to one another within those boundaries. It is again stressed, that not all polyamorous people use such terms.

Polyfidelity is sometimes a term to highlight the fact that poly individuals believe in fidelity, in fact many of them believe in it more than an average monogamous person. Cheating and heartbreak do happen within these relationships, and are just as emotional and hurtful as within a monogamous couple.

Metamore is a lover of a lover. Think "metadata" which is data that describes data. If you were to be in a relationship with somebody and that person would be at the same time in an honest relationship with another individual, then that individual would be your metamore.

Wikipedia list

Please note, their criteria and terminology is a bit "weird"

Documentaries

Unlikely family

A documentary about a triad living in a closed relationship.

Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3Vc9DqQQ_A

Other sexuality projects