Of course, there are no definitive descriptions for what goes on in any relationship, but it is helpful to have a general idea of how these terms are used. This is in no way intended to be a complete list, but is offered as a way for those unfamiliar with poly relating to make sense of the information offered in these pages.

Expanded Family
     Where three or more people choose to live as a family unit. This usually involves a commitment between each of the partners and decisions are usually made by mutual consent. The term expanded family is also used to describe the core family and their closest supporting friends/families/lovers.

Group Marriage
     Three or more people who agree to "marry" each other. Group marriages, just like couple marriages, may or may not be open to other partners.

Intimate Network
     A term describing the social web that results from having sexual relations with friends and lovers of yours and your partners and perhaps their friends and lovers, etc.

Non-Monogamy
     The practice of creating intimate relationships that may include sexuality which do not require sexual exclusivity. As a result, there may or may not be more than one such relationship occurring at a time.

Open Relationship or Open Marriage
     A non-monogamous relationship or marriage.

Poly
     The short form for Polyamory and/or Polyfidelity. Please note that Polyfidelity is a form of polyamory and not the other way around. (Like a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not necessarily a square.)

Polyamory
     The general term used to describe all forms of multi-partner relating.

Polyfidelity
     A form of group marriage where all the members agree to be fidelitious within their group and commit to exist as a family.

Primary Relationship
     Your main squeeze(s).

Serial Monogamy
     The most common style of relating in the US today. The belief that a person should only have one lover at a time. This belief is so strong that millions of people end perfectly good relationships in other to start another.

Sacred Sex
     The belief that sex is a spiritual event. This can take many forms from simply honoring sexuality as such, to the practice of Tantra - a sexual yoga.

Swinging
     The practice of having sex with others where the focus is primarily sexual. Often done in groups. Loving More is not a swing club as our focus is more on relationship than sex. Of course, sex is an important part of the poly lifestyle and many of our members are swingers as we have a sex positive bias and are open to all forms of responsible, consensual relating.

Tribe
     A social group that has a strong sense of identity and may have a family arrangement as its core.

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