Difference Between Polyamory and Polygamy

The key difference between polyamory and polygamy is that the polyamory is a practice of having open sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time while polygamy is a practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.

Both polyamory and polygamy describe multiple partner relationships, which are rather unconventional in contemporary Western society. Although both involve multiple partners, there is a distinct difference between polyamory and polygamy as the latter focuses on marriage and the latter does not.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Polyamory
3. What is Polygamy
4. Similarities Between Polyamory and Polygamy
5. Side by Side Comparison – Polyamory vs Polygamy in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Polyamory?

Polyamory is the practice of having open sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time, with the consent of all parties involved. Some describe it as a “consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy”. People who believe in polyamory reject the view that sexual and relational exclusivity are essential for long-term loving relationships. Instead, they believe in open relationships.

Furthermore, in polyamory, anyone of any gender can have multiple partners of any gender. Most importantly, polyamory is consensual, i.e., all parties involved know about the other partners, and they chose to be in those relationships. Moreover, open communication and equal relationships are important concepts in polyamory.

In addition, polyamory does not relate to marriage or any religious concept. Also, it is a relatively new concept introduced to the world in the late twentieth century.

What is Polygamy?

Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse at a time. There are two main categories in polygamy: polygyny and polyandry. Polygyny is the practice of having more than one wife whereas polyandry is the practice of having more than one husband. Monogamy, which only consists of one wife and one husband, is the opposite of polygamy. Monogamy is the commonly accepted matrimonial practice in many countries.

Although not very common, the practice of polygyny is still prevalent in the world today. We can mainly see that in areas like Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia. Some religions and Mormonism encourage the practice of polygyny. Furthermore, polyandry, which is the practice of a woman having multiple husbands, is far less common than polygyny.

What are the Similarities Between Polyamory and Polygamy?

• Both are multiple partner relationships.
• They are not very common practices in society.

What is the Difference Between Polyamory and Polygamy?

Polyamory is the practice of having open sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time. In contrast, polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Thus, this is the key difference between polyamory and polygamy. The practice of one woman having multiple husbands is known as polyandry whereas the practice of one man having multiple wives is known as polygyny.

Moreover, their relation to marriage and religion is also a major difference between polyamory and polygamy. Polyamory is neither associated with marriage nor with religion whereas polygamy is associated with both. Furthermore, polygamy only includes heterosexual relationships, i.e., a man with several wives or a woman with several husbands. But, polyamory may include both homosexual and heterosexual relationships. Therefore, we can consider this also as a difference between polyamory and polygamy.

Summary – Polyamory vs Polygamy

Both polyamory and polygamy describe multiple partner relationships, which are rather unconventional in contemporary Western society. In summary, the key difference between polyamory and polygamy is that the polyamory is a practice of having open sexual or romantic relationships with more than one person at a time while polygamy is a  practice of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.

Image Courtesy:

1.”Polyamory”By Own work – Ratatosk, (CC BY-SA 2.0 de) via Commons Wikimedia  
2.”Polyfigure”By By Mugdha Sujyot (Own work) (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia 
3.”Prince Manga Bell and favorite wives”By NYPL Digital Gallery, (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia