Polyamory is a novel concept that has surfaced over recent decades in the debates about non-monogamy. Polyamory circumscribes a relationship philosophy, an identity, or a lifestyle that evolves around the belief that it is worthwhile and valid to have more than one partner. Combining word elements derived from Greek (poly) and Latin (amory), the term literally translates into “many loves.” The concept of polyamory aims at providing a positive alternative to the more common term “non-monogamy,” which draws its meaning primarily from a negation of the dominant term “monogamy.” As a relationship ideology, polyamory encourages multiple or open relationships and challenges the normative ideal of compulsory monogamy. Polyamory spread in the United States throughout the 1980s and 1990s, where polyamorous communities have formed in many larger cities. Over recent years the term has gained significant popularity. The Internet has been an important tool for the development of an international online community. Today the term provides a point of reference for people interested in alternative lifestyles and sexualities beyond the North American continent and Europe, where the first networks around polyamory originated. There is no essential link between polyamory and any particular sexual identity. However, it seems as if discussions about polyamory have been particularly prominent in bisexual …

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology