
Useful Terms
Pansexuality: Pansexuality is the state of not having one’s sexuality limited or defined by the culture in which you live. Social customs and tradition are not taken into account. Instead, limits come from more natural, maturely instinctive, philosophical and moral trains of thought. The most important constraint is that of consent, in that the sexual partner must be willing and also must understand the nature of sexual interactions. A pansexuality community is one that enthusiastically encompasses any sexuality.
Poly: A blanket term to cover one or more of ‘pansexuality’, ‘polygamy’ or ‘polyamory’.
Polygamy: The state of being married to more than one person.
Polyfidelity: Involves multiple romantic relationships with sexual contact restricted to only specific partners in the group (which may include all members of that group).
Sub-relationships: Distinguish between a primary and secondary relationship.
Triad relationship: Three people romantically involved.
Quad: relationships between a couple and another couple.
Group Relationships: Sometimes referred to as tribes or group marriage, in which all consider themselves associated to one another.
Networks of interconnecting relationships: Where a particular person may have relationships of varying degrees of importance with various people.
Mono/poly relationships: Where one partner is monogamous but agrees to the other having outside relationships.
Geometric arrangements: Arrangements described by the number of people involved and their relationship connections.
Open relationships/open marriages: Where participants may have sexual liaisons with other not within their core group of partners. Some open relationships may be open sexually, while exclusively emotionally.
Consensual sex: where both parties are mature enough to understand the nature and potential complexity of sexual interaction; and all involved parties have consented.
"Polyamory." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2016.