Polygamy or Polyamory ?
Polygamy and polyamory are often confused. Some people think of polygamy as technically a subset of polyamory - others disagree and say that the (very recent) term "polyamory" is different in spirit. Men and women pursuing either polygamy or the wider polyamory report both happy and difficult experiences. In any case, you may find the following comparative description of polyamory and polygamy helpful.
It is important to note that in no culture is polygamy (or polyamory) the majority practice. It is usually a tiny minority.
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Polyamory
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Polygamy
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Polyamory can involve relationship between people of any gender (including transgender) and any sexual orientation. Sexual connections may or may not occur between any members of a polyamorous grouping, as the group decides. There seems to be no grouping in polyamory which is dominant - relationship groupings are like snowflakes, with no two alike. |
The commonest polygamous grouping is the relationship between one straight man and two or more straight women. This is known as polygyny. Although polyandry (one woman with several men) does occur, it is rare. Most commonly in polygamy, sexual relationships are expressed only between the man and each woman individually.
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Polyamory involves people of any or no religious/spitirual conviction, although it seems rare or non-existent amongst religious fundamentalists. |
In the west, polygamy is mainly practiced by religious sects such as (a splinter group of) the Mormons. In the rest of the world, polygamy occurs most commonly in a variety of Muslim and other (mainly Asian) cultures.
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Polyamory tends towards a feminist approach, in that most polyamorists regards men and women as being equal in all respects with regard to relationship rights and requirements.
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Polygamy (in its commonest form of polygyny) tends towards a patriarchal approach, seeing the man as protector of the women. There are some Western polygamous relationships which report a qualified kind of feminism because each woman has the advantage of a shared, communal family work load.
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