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Summary: The Correlation Between Polyamory And Oxymory

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The term “polyamory,” to some, is a confusing word describing a lifestyle found to be even more baffling. However, polyamorous relationships are growing in popularity and have roots dating back hundreds of years. Polyamory is described as the “assumption that it is possible, valid, and worthwhile to maintain intimate sexual and/or loving relationships with more than one person simultaneously, without deception or betrayal” (Morrison, Beaulieu, Brockman, & Beaglaoich, 2013). Polyamorous relationships are a subsect of nonmonogamous relationships that place focus on functionality, happiness, exploration, and love for all involved. Polyamory is not to be confused with terms such as polygyny (multiple wives), polyandry (multiple husbands), or polygamy …show more content…

Heinlein, and Robert H. Rimmer’s 1962 novel The Harrad Experiment. With the advent of these similar philosophies came the participants of such lifestyles, and, in effect, the evolution of such ideas. (Sartorious, 2004). This progression lead to the coining of the term “polyamorous”, a hybrid of Greek and Latin to combine the terms for “many” and “love,” to refer to a type of “responsible nonmonogamy” described and advocated in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land (Barker, 2005). Coined by Morning Glory Zell, a Neopagan community leader, in 1990, many began feeling acceptance and belonging within this particular sect of nonmonogamy, as Zell’s term emphasized such things as honesty, ethics, and transparency (White, …show more content…

According to one author, polyamory is not so much a sexual orientation, as it is a strategic identity used to deal with one’s sexual orientation. A strategic identity is defined as a way to serve a political, social, or interpersonal function and is adopted by a member of an in-group living under the surveillance of a powerful out-group. For example, a bisexual woman cohabitating with a heterosexual man may find herself to be sexually unfulfilled. Though she feels frustrated, she does not want to betray her current partner or hurt his feelings. Eventually, she gives into the unfulfilled side of her sexual orientation, and cheats on her male partner with a female. She tells her current partner about her infidelity and he is devastated. He feels disgraced and manipulated, and the woman feels regret and shame. In order to avoid this issue in the future, this woman will begin entering polyamorous relationships in which she is free to openly explore both sides of her sexual orientation. In this way, as the author states, polyamory becomes the way to adjust to one’s sexual orientation, rather than a change in one’s actual sexual preferences (Robinson,

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