Polyamory is a form of consnsual, or ethical non-monogamy (ENM) in which a person is involved with multiple romantic or sexual partners at the same time.
Consent is crucial in ENM. One of the most important parts of being polyamorous is making sure that you — and any romantic or sexual partners you have — are aware of and consenting to the relationships you have with them and others.
Let's do the numbers:
- About one-third of polled American singles say they've had a consensually non-monogamous relationship, according to Match's 2024 Singles in America study — and a slightly higher proportion described their ideal relationship as something other than complete monogamy in a 2023 YouGov survey.
- The dating app Feeld saw a 500% increase from 2021 to 2024 in the number of users including the terms "ethically nonmonogamous" and "polyamorous."
- In early February 2024, 33% of OkCupid reported they'd consider an open relationship, up from 27% in 2014. And there was a 45% increase in profile mentions of terms relating to nonmonogamy between 2021 and 2023.