CommPRO

View Original

Polyamorous Love Finds A Place On OKCupid

Do you speak the language of your next customer? Learn More.necklaceIn 2014, you could go to OKCupid and register as someone in an open relationship, but they're rolling out a new category: the polyamorous or poly couple who might want to search for dates together as a couple. Before, if polies wanted to do that, they were only given the option of selecting one gender, which made it confusing for the person responding to their ad and seeing two people.We’ve seen an expansion of sexualities and genders outside of binary categories, and gay marriage legislation has redefined what constitutes a legal couple. Including a polyamorous couple as a category on a mainstream dating site expands the boundaries of what behaviors can exist and still constitute a relational unit.Like gender and sexuality, what constitutes commitment in relationships is now fluid and on a spectrum rather than in a binary. Whereas single or coupled or cheating or monogamous used to be the binary, for poly couples, cheating counts only based on boundaries they decide themselves, and they vary from couple to couple. They create their own relationship vows, in other words.OKCupid is not pushing this agenda, they're simply responding to their users' shifts in behavior and demand. in 2010, 56% of people needed exclusivity in relationships; now, its only 44%. And a surprising 24% of their users expressed interest in group sex. Modern relationships continue to morph with modern identities, a trend we call Blurred ID, which shows conventions falling away in favor of self-definition. Subscribe to n2 now and receive daily trends, direct to your pocket