In a fun exercise to see how our polycule played out, we attempted to show the interrelationships of the individuals involved. For Those of you how have ever tried, we learned this was quite the challenge. We have, broadly, defined all of our relations into these four categories: Established Relationships, Formailized Relationships, Kink Relationships, and Mono/Poly Relationships. Let’s take a closer look at what these types of relationships are and how they coincide with one another..
Established Friendships:
This can be defined as a relationship of mutual connection between the two individuals. In our sex-positive group of friends, there has been varying degrees of sexual exploration with one another. This type of relationship is typically more casual in nature. The level of intimacy and/or sexual connection eb and flow, without rising to the level of a defined relationship or even necessarily a need too, as decided by the individuals involved.
Formalized Relationships:
We define this type of relationship as a mutual agreement between two individuals. This type of relationship spans the typical relationship spectrum, with rules and boundaries, needs and wants for both sides, and a deeper emotional connection than an Established Relationship. Common traits of these relationships can also include, hierarchical tendencies (though not always), cohabitation, shared finances & a social calendar.
Kink Relationships:
This type of relationship is often identified by the larger role kink plays in the dynamics between two individuals. The world of kinks is broad and deep, and oftentimes has a large overlap with the wolrd of open and polyamorous relationships.
“The kink play is based off of a power exchange. That power exchange is the basis from where the romantic relationship grew & helped it developed. Over time the kink and romantic relationships came to be intrinsically linked, feeding off of one another.”
-The Gaymer & his pup
This is a world we will come to explore in future posts, because as mentioned before, we could spend considerable time on this topic alone.
Mono/Poly Relationship:
Is what More Than Two describes: A relationship between a person who self-identifies as polyamorous and a person who self-identifies as monogamous. In a couple of weeks, we will touch based on our experiences with this topic.
It should be noted, that the outline you see above was no easy task, the intricacies and overlap of individual & group relationships often times buck traditional definitions and structures. Our goal here was not to create a comprehensive view, that we will save for the Netflix show it deserves. In outlining our polycule, we hope our readers can find parallels in their own lives and in turn jog a curiosity and desire to discuss further as we dive into more personal experiences in future posts. If you have a topic you’d like to discuss, leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you!
- Your friendly Poly Guys 1 & 2
