Home > Author > Mark A. Michaels
1 " Designer relationships are based on egalitarianism and mutuality, not on proprietary thinking. From this perspective, if people decide they will have multiple partners, the approach is the antithesis of cheating. In the conventionally monogamous model, each party owns the other (a modern variation on the more antiquated view of woman as property). In designer relationships, each party voluntarily owes the other transparency, some measure of emotional loyalty, and a determination to abide by agreements. "
― Mark A. Michaels , Designer Relationships: A Guide to Happy Monogamy, Positive Polyamory, and Optimistic Open Relationships
2 " Recognizing that open relationships work for some doesn't threaten anyone else's relationship; it won't discourage anyone from choosing to be exclusive or from forming pair-bonds. We expect the majority will do just that and that dyadic and exclusive relationships will remain the predominant model. While we'd like to see people in those dyadic and exclusive relationships thinking their decisions through more carefully than they often do, we're not encouraging them to do anything that feels wrong. The simple answer to those who object to nonmonogamy is "Then be monogamous. "
3 " Again, there is something to be said for recapturing some of what it was like to be sixteen. "
― Mark A. Michaels , Great Sex Made Simple: Tantric Tips to Deepen Intimacy & Heighten Pleasure
4 " Relationships can open and close or have varying degrees and kinds of openness as circumstances demand. In the context of a designer relationship, decisions are made mutually, consciously, and deliberately. Agreements are discussed, arrived at, and honored. And when agreements no longer serve, they can be re-crafted. "
5 " Designer relationships entail:- Free, and enthusiastic choice- Mutuality in defining the relationship and establishing parameters- Permission to consider all forms of relating- Dedication to maintaining radical regard of your partner or partners- Regular testing of the non-exclusive for STIs, and transparency about sexual history "
6 " -- Myth #5: Monogamy Is Natural, Evolutionarily Determined, Optimal, or Divinely Ordained --It may seem paradoxical to combine evolutionary psychology and religious beliefs in a single section, but these ideas have much in common. Both partake of a mindset that treats contemporary culture as an expression of eternal verities, neglecting the fact that societies vary a great deal, and that modern relationships have little in common with the majority of models that have existed throughout human history. "
