Polyamorous

Polyamory is a general term to denote relationships involving more than one individual. There are many different interpretations of how a polyamorous relationship works (just as there is for a monogamous relationship), but one core precept that the polyamorous community follows is the explicit knowledge, understanding, and consent of all involved individuals. Cheating, lying, or disloyalty is extremely taboo in the polyamorous community as the entire concept of polyamory is based partly on the notion that you can or should trust the person you are with.

Polyamory can take one of several distinct forms.

• Polyfidelity, which is a relationship involving multiple partners which is closed off to new members and the people within the relationship are faithful to each other.
• Primary and Secondary relationships are most often found in polyamorous relationships involving three people where one person is the Primary participant and another is the Secondary. The different individuals usually fulfill different needs for each other and for the third person involved
• Various relationships between multiple people or sets of people, named by their configurations (A relationship of three people would be called a triad, a relationship between two different sets of couples a quad, and so on.)
• Polygamy (polygyny and polyandry), in which one person marries several spouses
• Group relationships and group marriage, in which all consider themselves associated to one another, popularized by Robert Heinlein in many of his works
• Networks of interconnecting relationships, where a particular person may have relationships of varying degrees of importance with various people.
• Mono/poly relationships, where one partner is monogamous but agrees to the other having outside relationships.
• Singular relationships are sometimes defined by the letter shape they form; one person romantically involved with two individuals who are not involved with each other would be a "V" relationship and so on.
• Open relationships are termed when one or more participants in any relationship are free to seek other partners outside the relationship while staying attached to their primary partner, long-term relationships of this type are often referred to as Primary and Secondary relationships.