Relationships are ever changing and now more than ever there are so many different types of relationships that can help you expand upon who you are whilst experimenting with other people. For these kinds of relationships to work, there has to be an understanding of what they are and what they involve and how they can affect other people. In this article, I have tried to give a brief and easy explanation of 9 different types of relationships.
Polygyny
A form of marriage which is still accepted in many cultures, where a husband can have multiple wives or girlfriends who are only faithful to him. This form of relationship is more common in areas in the Middle East and within the Muslim religion. Of course, this form of marriage has been hit with some criticism with people believing in monogamy but the history and culture of this type of relationship is becoming more and more excepted as time goes on.
Polyandry
This is less culturally common and is when a woman can have multiple husbands, there are still practising tribes in Northern China who live in Matriarchal societies and live with this structure. This form of polygamy is heard about a lot less, because of the historical tendency for societies to be run by Patriarchs.
Being in a polyamory relationship can involves both partners sharing multiple partners or not sharing the same partners (except for each other). It’s fast becoming an accepted form of relationship in many different cultures and is even starting to be seen in western cultures, with some families even being polyamorous and bringing up children. Polygamy is also less gender split now and allows for a lot of fluidity within a relationship within sexuality.
A polyfidelity relationship is an intimate relationship with more than two partners. This relationship can be emotional or sexual or both and is very similar to a monogamous relationship except with more partners to share the love with. This type of relationship is like a polyamorous one, except the partners are constant and all three (or more) partners are involved with each other.
In swinging there is one relationship couple (of any sexual orientation) consensually swapping sexual partners with other consenting couples. It is a very diverse form of interaction with events such as swinging parties to help couples explore and experience sex with new partners in safe and open environments. As well as this, close friends also sometimes swap partners regularly.
‘Open relationships’ is usually a very broad term used for committed relationships where there are more sexual partners involved, either with one of the partners or with both. Within open relationships you can have longstanding extra partners for the couples or for the individuals. These kinds of relationships often come with rules which the partners decide for themselves.
This is when there is a couple who are primarily monogamous but have certain rules to allow certain sexual and emotional contact with others outside of the relationship. This can involve actions such as going on dates, kissing and touching but not having sex or any sexual contact. Many monogamish relationships stem out of long distance relationships where the partners don’t spend much physical time together so seek out comfort with other partners.
A platonic love relationship is an intimate romantic relationship without any need for sexual contact. These relationships can involve one partner being A-Sexual or both being A-Sexual, obviously this can create trying situations if one partner is not A-sexual and could involve the use of masturbation, possibly involving both partners to create some intimacy. Similarly, closeness can be created with physical closeness.
Although arranged marriages might seem like monogamous options, they are still different from a simple partner and partner relationship. The people in these relationships did not necessarily decide to be in it and are considered tied together forever, without choice within the relationship they’re stuck to.
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