Main Article: Polyamory, Multi-Partner Sexual-Rights Cause on the Horizon
By John Murawski, RealClearInvestigations
April 22, 2020
Movements typically develop their own vocabulary to create group solidarity, and to legitimize beliefs and practices that are scorned, feared – or secretly admired – by outsiders. Here are some commonly recurring terms of polyamory, drawn from RealClearInvestigations' interviews with polyamorists and from published and online resources:
COMPERSION – Often described as the opposite of jealousy, a feeling of happiness from knowing your intimate partner is having sexual relations with someone else. Coined by the Kerista Commune of San Francisco, which existed from the 1960s until the early 1990s.
FOURSOME – A polyamorous unit of four partners; also known as a “quad.” (See THROUPLE.)
FRIEND WITH BENEFITS – A friend with whom one has casual sex without any commitments.
METAMOUR – The lover or spouse of one’s partner with whom one is not involved. Some polyamorists insist on meeting the metamour to confirm consent, while other polyamorists have little or no contact with the metamour.
MONOGAMISH – A committed relationship between two people that resembles monogamy but is open to outside sexual liaisons. The term was coined by the sex columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage.
MORESOME – A polyamorous unit of more than four partners.
NEW RELATIONSHIP ENERGY – The giddiness, excitement, infatuation or “crush” sensation that accompanies a sexual or romantic relationship in its initial stages. The honeymoon phase of a relationship that fades over time.
POLYAMORY – A philosophy and lifestyle that embraces loving more than one person at a time, with the knowledge and consent of all involved. It is the opposite of monogamy and is seen by adherents as non-possessive, responsible, ethical and honest. Such relations can involve two partners or multiple partners; they can be closed or open to outsiders, depending on the terms set by the polyamorists. Note: Polyamorists sometimes have temporary or extended monogamous periods, celibate dry spells, or asexual relationships.
POLYANDRY – Having multiple husbands or male partners.
POLYCULE – A polyamorous network of people who are romantically or sexually involved with each other. The word, derived from “molecule,” can also refer to a diagram representing the web of primary and secondary relationships.
POLYFIDELITY – Sexual faithfulness practiced by a group of more than two people who are all primary partners with each other; committed polyamory. Another term formed by San Francisco’s Kerista Commune.
POLYGAMY – The state of having multiple spouses or mates, male or female.
POLYGYNY – Having multiple wives or female partners.
RELATIONSHIP ANARCHY – A sexual style emphasizing radical freedom and spontaneity without rules or commitments. Some don’t accept RA as a form of polyamory because there are few or no terms and conditions.
SEX-POSITIVE – A belief that sex is healthy as long as it’s consensual, and that sex is too often arbitrarily constrained by social norms or value judgments.
SWINGING – A recreational practice of couples swapping partners for casual sex, without emotional attachment; also called “sport sex.”
THROUPLE – A polyamorous unit of three partners; also known as a "triad.”
