The 21st century has been a time for redefining the way we see relationships and marriage. In prior years, society saw the concept of relationships between the sexes as a singular aspect. To be drawn to be with multiple different people was typically condoned. Those who prescribed to this way of life were commonly ostracized by a community who believed it to be unorthodox and detrimental to the sanctity of marriage. Today's generation has completely reinstated the way we view promiscuity, open-relationships, and monogamy in our society.
I remember being about 15 or 16-years-old when I had a conversation with a 19-year-old about promiscuity. His advice to me was to refrain from being promiscuous. He warned me from sleeping around with multiple different men because no good could possibly come out of it. I heeded his advice. I ingrained in my head that being promiscuous was a bad thing. I succeeded until the age of 18, when I finally gave into the temptation. Actually, it was out of curiosity than anything else. For a while I felt bad about what I had been doing, and thought about what my family would think of me. However, I began asking myself who even decided that being promiscuous was such a horrid thing? Nobody has such entitlement to tell or demand another human being how they should use or display their body--not even your family nor your friends.
Open relationships have been seen as having a negative connotation behind the idea of the unity between two people. However, when I first came to Austin, I started to notice that open relationships were a lot more prominent here rather than in a more conservative area such as Houston. The whole concept of an open relationship has been scrutinized by many because it refutes the conservative values of what a relationship should be. As a person who frequents dating/hookup apps such as Tinder, Grindr, and Scruff, I have seen many examples of men who are in open relationships. Many of these men have open relationships due to the fact that their partners do not have similar sexual preferences as they do. These men in particular have the ability to separate lust from love. There is a fine line of complexity behind the concept of an open relationship. People tend to be less open minded when they don't understand a subject. However, educating ourselves to get a better understanding of these different aspects helps us grow as a generation and as people.
Monogamy is the practice of having a sexual relationship with only one partner. This way of living has always been accepted in our culture. I have found that monogamy consists mainly of conservative perspectives of what companionship should be. This idea is widely practiced because of its roots in society today: many feel obligated to have this kind of relationship because it is the cultural norm of our generation and the generations before us. This type of relationship doesn't work for everyone, and that is hard for many to grasp. Society views those who decide to not be monogamous as selfish beings who don't want to settle down with one person. Although, sometimes this might be true, other individuals have different outlooks on what a relationship should be. While monogamy might work for one person, it doesn't mean it works for everyone.
We are not all wired the same way. If that was the case we would all be within the cultural norms that constitute being in a relationship. It is okay to be promiscuous, in an open-relationship, or in a monogamous relationship. As long as it works for that particular individual, it is okay. It's time to break the stigma of what man once believed relationships to be, and conceptualize that it is a flexible entity within our current culture.
