Open relationships are those relationships in which both the partners share sexual relations with somebody else outside their marriage or love relationships. This is a different kind of relationship that the two people share. It has some sort of bonding and energy that makes such relations possible. In older days any sexual relationship outside the bond of marriage or love relation was not done openly, the consent was lacking in such relation in older days. But as of now, the situation has changed, the world scenario has changed.

People have become more verbal for having such kind of intimacies. This is why the whole sense of consent comes in. The drift towards being more practical than being emotional in terms of relationship has changed a lot of things. This practicality has brought the idea of open relationships.

It has been observed that men are most likely to demand such relationships as compared to women. Females are still not very desirous to have an open relationship as men do. There could be several reasons for it. Some of the major reasons for this have been discussed below. Along with the reasons the basic or ground rules of open relations and the reasons for such relations to take place has also been discussed below.

If you don’t know the rules about open relationships, see this article from Advocate.

What are the basic rules that one should follow in an open relationship?

Every relationship should have some boundaries and limitations otherwise they can become difficult to handle; as it is wisely said that excess of anything is bad. So in open relationships also there should be some set rules and limitations that every person should follow to have a smooth relation with your partner. Some of the basic rules have been mentioned below:

For many people having multiple sex partners is not problematic but emotional dependencies do matter to them. In other words, some people are okay if their partner is sleeping with other people but they can not bear the fact that they are emotionally dependent on them. So it is necessary to put a boundary in your open relations and if it is not done then you may lose your immediate partner or may end up sharing a bad relationship with them.
The sexual boundaries should also be maintained in open relations. For many people what happens is their sexual desires with their immediate partners are not fulfilled. Like for instance if one of the partners are interested in practicing BDSM but the other partner does not allow for this, and so the couple decides to have an open relation then, in that case, the limitations of relations should be maintained. You need to respect your immediate partner and do not become connected with your other partner more as this will ruin the relationship with your partner. It is therefore always needed to have the consciousness of your sexual limitation in open relationships.
Time, importance and priority should always be taken care of in any relationships. Open relationships also demand all these things. You should always set your priorities for your partners and should pre-decide the amount of time that you are going to give to your other partner.
Discussion and conversation save a lot of things. For a good relationship to work, you need to have an open discussion with your partners. Your immediate partners, as well as the other partner, should know about the time that you are going to spend with them. This would give them clarity and no mess will be created.

What are the reasons to have an open relationship?

There could be several reasons for practicing an open relationship. Some of them are discussed below:

Your partner may suffer some kind of problem due to which he/ she could no longer be able to have sex. So in such cases only to fulfill the sexual desires people opt for open relationships.
Some people are not satisfied with their partner sexually but they are emotionally attached to their partner and that is why they do not want to leave their partner but also want their sexual desires to be completed, so they opt for an open relationship.
Some people have wide sexual desires and so they prefer having an open relationship, where they can experience different kinds of sexual activities with different people. This gives them the satisfaction that they can not get from a single relationship.

Why men are more prone to have open relationships?

It is observed that men are more interested in having the desire for an open relationship as compared to women, some of the major reasons for which are given below:

It is believed that men are more practical and less emotional as compared to females so the chances of a man getting emotionally attached in any relation are less, which is why they go for several relations or in other words open relations. (See some reasons why people get emotionally attached)
Men are more desirous for sexual pleasures than women and that is why they want variety in terms of sex also, and this is the reason why they go for multiple sex partners.
Females are much more capable of controlling their desires but men aren’t. So if for any reason the female partner is not able to give the desired sexual pleasures to men then they opt for having an open relationship.

Till date, open relationships are not acceptable in many of the societies. But the acceptance of such relations has comparatively increased in the social setup. However, it can be very difficult to start such a conversation with your partner. In other words, it can be a very difficult task to ask or even to tell your partner about your wish of having an open marriage or relationship. The most common thing that can happen to is you can be judged for having a faulty character. But for any open relation to work, the important thing is having the open conversation about such things with your partner.

In most of the open relations, the immediate partners do not drift from each other, it is just their mutual consent due to which they opt for open relations. But if there is a lack of conversation and understanding in your relation then things could become tough for both the partners.