Three-way and other forms of polyamorous relationships are becoming “less taboo”, an author has said.
Singer Úna Healy is reportedly in a three-way relationship - sometimes known as ‘throuple’, ‘thruple’ or ‘ménage à trois’ - and she certainly is not the only one.
Historically, such relationships were frowned by most people and seen as little different to adultery. However, Dr Kate Devlin, who wrote Turned On: Science, Sex and Robots, says society is gradually becoming more comfortable with the concept.
“I think people are maybe more open about it now,” she told Lunchtime Live.
“I think there’s a long history about them and you might think back to the Bloomsbury set in London when they were all maybe forming these bonds with each other.
“It’s definitely becoming a more open thing and I think partly enhanced by the internet and the fact that there’s a lot more information about it out there and it’s becoming less taboo.”
Two women and a man. Some open relationships mean a partner has permission to have casual sex with who they want; sometimes it means they have sex with someone else when their partner is away.
Other polyamorous people have a primary partner and a lover who they see less often. Some involve multiple people who are all in a relationship with each other.
There is a huge variety and Dr Devlin says it is all about agreeing rules that everyone is happy with.
“There’s a lot of negotiation that needs to go on between the people involved to make sure that you’re happy with what the boundaries are,” she said.
“I think there can be, sometimes, that element of envy or jealousy but it’s up to you and the people you’re involved with to set your boundaries and negotiate that.
“For me, it was much easier to do that and to enjoy that and feel safe in that compared to what happens in a relationship where someone cheats on you for example.
“So, I like the honesty of it. I like the fact that everyone’s open and sets their own boundaries.”
Main image: Three way relationship. Picture by: Alamy.com
