The New Monogamy

Who would've thought that I, of all people, would be such a traditionalist???? I can't remember what I was reading on MSN that led me to a Q&A with relationship experts about the idea of "managed monogamy," but it piqued my interest. So in order to find out where this all started, I searched for the article that started the controversy titled "The New Monogamy." This entails having open relationships/marriages. Already, I was a tad confused because doesn't "mono" mean one? Hmmmm...

At first I thought, wow! It's like living the dream - having a wonderful husband, my house with the white picket fence, the 2.5 kids, yada, yada, yada...and to top things off, an open arrangement to play nookie with other men with my husband's consent. The hemisphere of my brain still clutching on for dear life to the idea of being young, sexy, and single screams, "That's awesome!" While the other hemisphere of my brain (the one that's been slowly trying to take over the entire cranium as I toe the line into my 30's - damn you, responsible part of the brain) takes a reality check and wonders whatever happened to the sanctity of marriage or even the sanctity of a serious relationship for that matter? Again, hmmmmm.....

I understand that we're in a time where 50% of marriages end in divorce, the feminine mystique has become the feminine takeover, and our fast-paced lives often leads us to swapping out partners as quickly as we upgrade our software because we "don't have time" to enjoy, nurture, or allow relationships to gestate to their full potentials. Then for those who truly want to maintain such a non-commital way of life, why not just stay single and slut around avoiding subjecting oneself to a relationship that is suppose to be mutally exclusive? I can totally accept and respect that decision. Don't get me wrong...I'm all about kissing (and then some) all the frogs in the world before you find that prince. But, c'mon now! It sounds to me like The New Monogamy has been around forever - it's called staying single.