Open Relationship - Types of Open Relationships

Types of Open Relationships

There are several different styles of open relationships. These include:

• Multi-partner relationships, between three or more partners where a sexual relationship does not occur between all of the parties involved.
• Hybrid relationships, when one partner is non-monogamous and the other is monogamous.
• Swinging, in which singles or partners in a committed relationship engage in sexual activities with others as a recreational or social activity.

To a large degree, open relationships are a generalization of the concept of a relationship beyond monogamous relationships. A form of open relationship is the open marriage, in which the participants in a marriage have an open relationship.

Open relationships may be further classified into open groups and closed groups. In open groups, multiple partners may change at any time and tend to contain three types of participants: core members, associated members, and affiliated members. Core members are those participants who have been sexually intimate with several others; associated members are those who are involved sexually with at least two members of the group, and affiliated members, are those people who believe in a similar philosophy accepted by others and are seen as members of the group even though they are only involved with their mate, the core member. In a closed group, all participants are core members.

While the concept of an open relationship has been recognized since the 1970s, formal examinations of the concept have been scarce.

The term open relationship is sometimes used interchangeably with the closely related term polyamory, but the two concepts are not identical.