‘Some kind of cheating’: Boundary transgressions and open relationships
Loading...
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SAGE Publications
https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607251330945
https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607251330945
Abstract
Description
Peer reviewed: True
Funder: Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Open relationships as a form of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) offer ways of ‘doing’ intimacy and relationships aside from solidified norms of monogamy. At the same time, open relationships can go along with ambiguity or disagreements regarding their boundaries and their transgressions – especially among young adults. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, this study examines how young adults based in England negotiate and give meaning to boundary transgressions in open relationships. Such transgressions refer to the breaching or breaking of implicit or explicit relationship boundaries – for instance, with whom one can be sexually intimate. I argue that ‘infidelity’ serves as a cultural repertoire that young adults draw on when navigating the ambiguity of open relationships and in setting symbolic and moral boundaries. Furthermore, this study highlights the tenacity of mono- and heteronormativity – even in open relationships – as dominant ideologies structuring intimate lives.
Funder: Friedrich Ebert Foundation
Open relationships as a form of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) offer ways of ‘doing’ intimacy and relationships aside from solidified norms of monogamy. At the same time, open relationships can go along with ambiguity or disagreements regarding their boundaries and their transgressions – especially among young adults. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, this study examines how young adults based in England negotiate and give meaning to boundary transgressions in open relationships. Such transgressions refer to the breaching or breaking of implicit or explicit relationship boundaries – for instance, with whom one can be sexually intimate. I argue that ‘infidelity’ serves as a cultural repertoire that young adults draw on when navigating the ambiguity of open relationships and in setting symbolic and moral boundaries. Furthermore, this study highlights the tenacity of mono- and heteronormativity – even in open relationships – as dominant ideologies structuring intimate lives.