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Structures · Complete index
Every named way of arranging romantic and sexual commitment documented by KINKSpec, in one A-to-Z list: 15 structures from monogamy through the 9 distinct polyamorous forms to relationship anarchy. A structure is neither an interest nor an identity, and every prevalence figure here names the survey it rests on.
This page lists 15 named relationship structures from A to Z, across 6 families: monogamous, open, polyamorous, anarchic and umbrella terms. Each links to a definition with its history, its cited prevalence and what it is routinely confused with.
Polyamory allows multiple romantic relationships, not only sexual ones; an open relationship is usually a couple that permits outside sex while reserving romance for the pair. The distinction is where love is allowed, not where sex is, and 9 of the structures listed here are variants of the polyamorous case alone.
About 4% of adults report currently practising some form of consensual non-monogamy, while roughly 10.7% report having engaged in polyamory at some point (Moors et al., 2021, a US Census-based quota sample). Monogamy remains the arrangement of the large majority.
Not in the sense the word is used for attraction. Polyamory is an arrangement people choose and can change, whereas an orientation describes who someone is drawn to. Some practitioners experience it as a fixed disposition, which is why the two are catalogued separately here rather than merged.
No. Every structure on this list is defined by informed agreement between the people in it. What separates them from infidelity is not how many partners are involved but whether everyone consented to the terms.
Each entry lists its sources, and every prevalence percentage names the survey it comes from rather than being estimated. The method behind the ranking, which compares structures only against other structures, is published in full.