Maja Tabea Jerrentrup: Postmodern Affaires. The Culture of Ethical-Non-Monogamy
Abstract
Ethical non-monogamy (ENM), an umbrella term for several alternative forms of relationships, is apparently of increasing interest to many people. This study tries to find out characteristics of ENM-individuals and to understand their motivations and ethical conceptions by analyzing profile data of a dating platform and in-depth interviews. It turns out that ENM-practitioners are often reflective and communicative individuals who are concerned with ambivalence. Their motivations range from a desire to try alternative lifestyles and explore their own boundaries to disillusion and revenge, from a desire for stability while experiencing, up to the wish for independence. Practitioners argue both deontologically and utilitarian and evaluate the phenomenon itself from different perspectives, are ultimately often ambivalent about it and consider it as constant work in progress, which is also reflected in meetings and chats with other practitioners.
[ethical non-monogamy, consensual non-monogamy, polyamory, relationship, love]
