A new study focusing on gay men’s thoughts around monogamy says that younger gay men are moving away from non-monogamous relationships.
The study (or rather, survey) was run by researchers and couple Lanz Lowen and Blake Spears. The two asked 832 gay men between the ages of 18 and 39-years old a series of questions involving monogamy.
They did this because they personally wanted to know where gay men’s heads were concerning the topic.
“We had been in a non-monogamous relationship for 36 years and were curious about the experience of others,” they shared through The Couple’s Study.
“There wasn’t any road map and we assumed long-term couples might offer valuable perspectives and hard-earned lessons.”
The two were soon surprised to find that the younger generation is verging off from the lifestyle they had chosen.
"Probably the most striking finding of this study is that younger gay men seem to be more inclined toward monogamy than their elders," the pair wrote in their reflection from the study’s results.
The results found that 86% of respondents that were in a relationship were monogamous and the remaining 14% were not. As for those who were single, 90% said that they were looking for a monogamous relationship.
Dissecting that last group even more, 44% of single men between the ages of 26 and 40 said they were open to the possibility of a non-monogamous relationship. Meanwhile, only 29% of single men who were 25 or younger were open to the idea.
In the breakdown section of the results, some participants shared their thoughts on why the results came out the way they did.
On respondent replied:
“My impression is that younger people are oriented more toward monogamy. The reason is the fact that gay culture is becoming assimilated into the mainstream, and monogamy is part of the assimilation. The idea of finding and settling down with your soul mate is desirable, and the fact that with gay marriage, that’s more attainable now.”
Another answered with an opposite impression:
"I don’t feel supported by the gay community in having a monogamous relationship. In fact, the norm seems to be open relationships, and we feel judged, and even pressured, to open things up, when people find out we’re monogamous."
What do you think? Do you think gay relationships are becoming more monogamous or are they opening up more?
