Key Takeaways
- Polyamory is a type of non-monogamy where multiple consensual romantic relationships happen at the same time.
- People in polyamorous relationships create rules and boundaries to ensure trust and communication.
Like any healthy relationship, good communication and established boundaries are key to making a polyamorous arrangement work.
The Polyamory Quiz
Not sure if polyamory is right for you? Take the quiz below to find out.
Who Is This Polyamorous Quiz For?
This quiz is for anyone who has learned about polyamorous relationships and is curious about whether or not this type of relationship could be right for them. It can help you better understand your feelings around monogamy and polyamory. Each question relates to experiences common in polyamory or feelings about trust and relationships.
Exploring your perspectives and needs within relationships sets the stage for building fulfilling connections with others. No matter where you fall on the spectrum of monogamy to polyamory, it is possible to have healthy relationships.
About This Polyamorous Quiz
This quiz is based on the definition and structures of polyamory and the feelings people can have about different relationship dynamics.
What to Know About Polyamory
Polyamory is a type of non-monogamy where people engage in multiple consensual romantic relationships and are open and honest about it with all parties involved. The term originated in the ’90s as a way to describe non-monogamy. Poly means many and amour means love – together, they mean many loves.
Polyamorous relationships are intentionally different from the common social norms of monogamous partnerships. They support participants having more than one sexual or romantic relationship at the same time with the agreement that everyone knows about the arrangement and participates with consent.
Polyamory has an emotional and sexual connection between partners. People in polyamorous relationships include all different sexual orientations, and there may be multiple sexual orientations in one polyamorous relationship.
It’s not the same as polygamy or an open relationship. Polygamy is when someone is married to multiple partners at the same time. Polyamorous relationships don’t require marriage, although marriage might be part of a polyamorous dynamic.
People in an open relationship are in a committed emotional relationship with each other and agree to have sexual partners outside the relationship, but these other connections generally do not involve romantic or emotional intimacy. An open relationship refers to a relationship dynamic between two people, whereas the term polyamorous describes a person’s dating preferences or practice. A polyamorous person can be single or in one or more relationships of different kinds.
What Are the Rules in Polyamorous Relationships?
People in polyamorous relationships generally come up with rules and boundaries that work for their dynamic. They may agree to rules on these topics:
- What to tell partners about other relationships and how much to share with each other
- Boundaries regarding honesty, transparency, and trust
- What to share and what not to share with family members, work associates, and others
- How often time is spent with different partners
- Who is involved sexually, and if certain sex acts should be discussed before engagement
- Sexual health and safety
When everyone is open and has conversations about getting emotional and sexual needs met, it helps to avoid conflict.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Cardoso D, Pascoal PM, Maiochi FH. Defining Polyamory: A Thematic Analysis of Lay People’s Definitions. Arch Sex Behav. 2021 May;50(4):1239-1252. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02002-y
Hnatkovičová, D., & Bianchi, G. (2022). Model of motivations for engaging in polyamorous relationships. Sexologies, 31(3), 184-194. ISSN 1158-1360. doi:10.1016/j.sexol.2022.03.003
Moors, A. C., Ramos, A., & Schechinger, H. Bridging the science communication gap: The development of a fact sheet for clinicians and researchers about consensenually non-monogamous relationships. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.
Polyamory Society. Introduction to polyamory.
Rubel, A. N., & Burleigh, T. J. (2020). Counting polyamorists who count: Prevalence and definitions of an under-researched form of consensual nonmonogamy. Sexualities, 23(1–2), 3–27. doi:10.1177/1363460718779781
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