Polyamory vs Monogamy: Support your stance with powerful ideas

According to recent research, 10.7% of surveyed Americans are in, or have been in, a polyamorous relationship. The number of people interested in polyamory is growing, with an additional 16.8% of respondents interested in entering a polyamorous relationship.

With nontraditional relationships more visible than ever, polyamory is a hot topic. But too often the debate around monogamy is framed as a choice between maturity vs. fecklessness, restriction vs. freedom, or right vs. wrong – when the nuances are more complex, and more personal.

When faced with new or different lifestyles, it can be tricky to know what we feel, think, or believe. It can also be hard to be fully understanding. One of the best solutions to this is learning more about the topic.

That’s where the Blinkist app comes in. Our experts take the powerful ideas of nonfiction books and put them into quick insights that are designed to be easy to understand and remember. Now, you can gain an understanding of both perspectives – monogamy and polyamory – in 15-minute bite-sized explainers. You can read or listen to Blinkist on all your devices – phone, tablet, or laptop – so you can easily fit learning into your life.

After you’re done, if you want to dive deeper into the topic, Blinkist offers other books on the subject, as well as links to buy the books for yourself.

But let’s get back to the issue at hand. Here are some insights from books in Blinkist’s library that offer different perspectives on monogamy and polyamory.

Take this as an opportunity to get informed and make up your own mind.

Polyamory: A Way to Meet Our Needs

Monogamy got a bit of a takedown in Sex at Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá. They offered an evidence-based argument that humans evolved to be promiscuous, and ignoring this puts a strain on our relationships and even our physical health. By opening ourselves up (pun definitely intended) to the idea that romantic love doesn’t require sexual fidelity, we may be able to meet more of our needs at the same time and find greater satisfaction in all areas of life.

Monogamy: The Rewards of Commitment

But open relationships definitely aren’t for everyone – for some, monogamy is an emotional and even moral imperative. The All-or-Nothing Marriage, by Eli J. Finkel, explores what benefits marriage still offers, even as some consider it outdated. Modern society requires new ways of thinking about our relationships, he argues, and those who do the work of commitment can see great rewards.

Make Up Your Own Mind

Intimacy can be where we find our greatest joys, but it’s also where we confront our greatest vulnerabilities. Even when we think we know what’s right for us, understanding other ways of loving can teach us a lot about what we need, and how we can meet the needs of those we love most.

Still unsure? Check out more books from our collection to help you decide what’s right for you.

Powerful Perspectives in 15 Minutes

Getting a handle on different sides of a debate can be tricky and time-consuming – but luckily, this is made much easier with Blinkist. Understand the key learnings of the best nonfiction books in just 15 minutes with the Blinkist app and web platform. Using neuroscientific principles, our content experts take the most important ideas of these books to create memorable, easy-to-understand insights which can be read or listened to.

With Blinkist, you can quickly dive into new theories and topics without spending hours reading the full book. Exploring various perspectives can help you decide where you stand – and understand where others are coming from when they have different ideas.

Blinkist Helps Readers Grow

This innovative concept is helping millions of people improve their lives: 87.5% of surveyed Blinkist users reported making positive changes to their lives based on the content they read on the app. Actionable advice, specific examples, or practical tips, included in all of the content, supports you in understanding new ideas and implementing them into your daily life.

Best of all, when and where you read is flexible: listen to the Blinkist app while on the train or cooking dinner, read on the computer in between Zoom calls, or start or end your day by reading a book on a new topic.

Join millions of curious minds and sign up for Blinkist to start listening today!