Beyond Monogamy Lessons from Long-Term Male Couples In Non-Monogamous Relationships

Although non-monogamous relationships are very common in the gay community, little research has been conducted and information about how couples navigate this terrain is surprisingly lacking. As a long-term couple (34 years), this was a journey we had taken together, without a roadmap. The lessons we learned along the way were often hard-earned and we found ourselves wondering how others dealt with this. How common or peculiar was our experience? Were there models we hadn’t considered? What worked or didn’t work for others?

While recognizing the uniqueness of each relationship and assuming a wide diversity in approaches,
we still imagined it would be valuable to hear from couples who had ‘been there’. We initiated this study to hear directly from those couples.

Study goals
The purpose of the study was to better understand the experience of non-monogamous couples and glean valuable lessons. Study goals were:

• Gather basic information about how couples handled ‘outside sex’
• Identify and describe typical models and approaches (to the extent they existed)
• Identify common themes, patterns, challenges and benefits
• Record what couples had to offer in terms of ‘learning’

To find full paper see attachment below.

Download : Beyond Monogamy