Defining Polyamory: A Thematic Analysis of Lay People’s Definitions

Abstract

This study aims at analyzing lay definitions of polyamory and to compare definitions presented by people in a monogamous relationship (MR) and on a consensual non-monogamous relationship (CNMR), and heterosexual people and non-heterosexual people.This exploratory qualitative study used data collected from a web survey with a convenience sample, where people answered the question "What does polyamory mean?". We conducted a thematic analysis in order to find patterns of meaning and used demographic data collected to compare themes between groups.The final sample comprised 463 participants, aged from 18 to 66 years (M= 32.19, SD = 10.01), mostly women (61%) and heterosexual (60,5%). Most respondents were in a monogamous relationship (54.2%), followed by no relationship (21%), and a nonmonogamous relationship (13.2%). Analysis shows people have a wide variety of definitions of polyamory, and that most people in our sample had a relative understanding of the term. People in CNMR valued positive feelings, and expressed themes of commitment, informed consent and cohabitation, while these themes were less present monogamous people's responses. The findings relation to stigma and dehumanization is discussed.

Beyond the presumption of monogamy: the role of religiosity, political conservatism and mononormativity in motivating opposition towards poly families / Más allá de la presunción de monogamia: el rol de la religiosidad, el conservadurismo político y la mononormatividad como motivadores de la oposición hacia las polifamilias

“…Notably, the current exploratory study provided evidence that in addition to endorsing opposition towards poly families, the behavioural expression of the opposition reflected the enacted intolerance of poly families' rights and participants' motivation to ensure monogamy practices. This set of results can be explained based on the logic that conservative individuals are motivated to preserve the status quo and to oppose poly families and their rights because they represent a deviation from the norm (Cardoso, 2014). These findings coincide with previous studies reporting that individuals who adopt more conservative values and beliefs tend to oppose stigmatized groups' rights (e.g., sexual and gender minorities' rights; van der Toorn et al, 2017;Williams, 2018).…”

“…There is evidence that every type of consensual non-monogamy relationship, such as swinging (couples engaged in extradyadic sex, often with a social component; Jenks, 1998), open relationships (partners engaging in independent sexual relationships outside of the dyad; Matsick et al, 2013) and polyamory (i.e., concurrent, consensual romantic relationships with multiple partners; Mitchell et al, 2013), bears social stigma and is viewed as undesirable to society or even harmful (Cardoso et al, 2021;Rodrigues et al, 2018;Séguin, 2019). Cardoso et al (2021) also emphasize that consensual non-monogamy has conceptual issues because it highlights the importance of monogamy and assumes it to be the usual assumption.…”

“…Additionally, without legal representation, polyamorous parents are vulnerable to custody disputes that might endanger their relationships with their children in situations of parental separation (Kleese, 2019). Parenthood and children not only constitute a normative marker of relationship legitimacy and success but also represent in many ways the reproduction of cis-normative ideals of mononormativity (Cardoso, 2014). Because monogamous partnerships are considered to be safer environments for raising a kid, children's well-being is closely related to monogamy (Conley et al, 2012), which is why it is believed that raising children is another area where polygamous people face discriminationalthough research shows that polygamous families provide more resources (e.g., economic and cognitive resources) and that children's emotional problems are more likely to be caused by social prejudices (Sheff, 2014).…”

“…Además, sin representación legal, los progenitores en relaciones poliamorosas son vulnerables a disputas sobre la custodia que podrían poner en peligro las relaciones con sus hijos en caso de separación (Kleese, 2019). Tanto la paternidad y maternidad como la crianza de los hijos no sólo constituyen marcadores normativos de la legitimidad de las relaciones y del éxito, sino que representan de formas diversas la reproducción de los ideales cisnormativos de la mononormatividad (Cardoso, 2014). Dado que las relaciones monógamas se consideran entornos seguros para la crianza de los hijos, el bienestar de estos se vincula estrechamente a la monogamia (Conley et al, 2012), razón por la que se considera que la crianza de los hijos es otra área en la que las personas polígamas sufren discriminación, aunque la investigación revela que las familias polígamas cuentan con más recursos (e.g., económicos y cognitivos) y que probablemente los problemas emocionales de los niños sean causados por los prejuicios sociales (Sheff, 2014).…”

“…En particular, este estudio aporta evidencia de que además de la oposición a las familias poliamorosas, la expresión conductual de esta oposición refleja la intolerancia respecto a los derechos de las familias poliamorosas y la motivación de los participantes a garantizar prácticas monógamas. En conjunto, estos resultados pueden explicarse mediante la lógica de que las personas conservadoras están motivadas para preservar el statu quo y se oponen a las familias poliamorosas y a sus derechos porque estos representan una desviación de la norma (Cardoso, 2014). Estos resultados coinciden con los de estudios previos según los cuales, las personas que adoptan valores y creencias más conservadoras tienden a oponerse a los derechos de los grupos estigmatizados (e.g., los derechos de las minorías sexuales y de género; van der Toorn et al, 2017;Williams, 2018).…”