unmonogamy

(noun)The opposite of monogamy (having one mate at a time) and the cooler, more inclusive, definition of non-monogamy (having more than one partner, or having one partner and having sex with other people as well). The prefix, un, is used to indicate the absence of something, therefore, unmonogamy is merely the absence of monogamy as a relationship status. Unmonogamy can be a lifestyle choice or an orientation, a part of one's identity. Ethical non-monogamy (ENM)and consensual non-monogamy (CNM) were introduced to counter the negative connotation associated with non-monogamy, emphasizing that these types of arrangements are done with consent (all partners consented to sex or love with other people). Distinguishing nonmonogamy as ethical or consensual, inadvertently, however, serves to separate and further stigmatize nonmonogamy, reinforcing the falsity that non-monogamy is inherently done without permission. Unmonogamy, therefore, attempts to remove the moral stigma of nonmonogamy as cheating, and present the practice in a more neutral, unbiased, unemotional and unprejudiced way.