This part of my personality is something that has developed and that I have acquired along the path of living. It wasn't what I sought, it is just what has found me.
Let's begin by some definitions.
Polyamorous: To have deep love for more than one, or to be in love with more than one.
Polyandrous: A form of relationship with one woman and more than one man.
Polygamous: A form of relationship with one man and more than one woman.
Monogamous: A form of relationship with one man and one woman.
Chain Relationship or Chain Marriage: A form of relationship that several men and women are connected within, not necessarily all with each other, but by interactions through each by individual preference of single or multiple partners.
Common Law Marriage: A form of relationship whereas the couple live together as husband and wife, ie. sharing a home, property, bills, income, even to sometimes include producing progeny for seven years and one day. When Alaska was a common law state the requirement of time was only one year and a day. This relationship gives both participants all the rights and privelages of legally married spouses.
"Live-ins": A form of relationship by which two or more individuals live together in a romantic and/or intimate relationship and may or may not share all expences and responsibilities. Individuals in this type of relationship may or maynot wish to commit to a permanent arrangement.
Celibacy: To not have sex by choice; usually an extended period of time. Originally a religious oriented moralistic choice to preserve virginity until marriage. It is now used as the Safest Sex measure to avoid contracting STDs.
Conditional Celibacy: This form of celibacy is not as strict as the original form. It allows for intimate interaction according to the conditions of the individual relationship. (There is a huge gray area between nothing and intercourse.)
Ok, I am polyamorous when it comes to the heart, polyandrous when it comes to relationships, conditionally celibate when it comes to the realms of the sensual and I have very frustrating and ironic monogamous tendencies when it comes to actual intercourse. This has proven to be a difficult combination. You might see where there could be conflicts without me going into detail. As far as polygamous and chain relationships I have been in them before, but I do not prefer them. I am a just individual and insist on being fair at all times. Not everyone is capable of that.
Also, I am a rather dominant female so my own sex and I tend to butt heads occasionally. That is not to say that I can't be fair about things, I can. I just don't care to continually be worried if some one else is spending enough time with the person I want to spend time with just to be sure that everything is fair. I have done this before and my experience has been that I wasn't the one who wasn't being fair. And since I am VERY heterosexual there are just some things I won't be guilted into solving myself.
Don't get me wrong, I am very open-minded and have many friends from a variety of alternate lifestyles. I even will flirt with just about anyone; male or female, but unless my object of obsession is actually male, well there is just something missing.
I have been in and out of my share of common law, live-ins and legal and "illegal" marriages of one form or another. I have adopted men's last names while they have lived with me as well.