What is "polyfidelity"

n. A form of polyamory where all members are considered equal partners and agree to be sexually active only with other members of the group.

Polyfidelity (also sometimes called polyexclusivity) is a form of polyamory where all members are considered equal partners and agree to be sexually active only with other members of the group. The term originated in the Kerista Village commune in San Francisco which practiced polyfidelity from 1971 to 1991. The community expected all of its members, within bounds of gender and sexual orientation, to be sexually active with all other members, and for exclusive relationships not to be formed. However, this aspect of polyfidelity is not always expected today.

Polyfaithful relationships are, like monogamous relationships, closed in the sense that partners agree not to be sexual outside the current members of the group. The difference is that more than two people are included in the closed group. New members may generally be added to the group only by unanimous consensus of the existing members, or the group may not accept new members.

Previous to the Kerista Village experience, people would have likely called this arrangement "complex marriage" or simply a " group marriage." Indeed, one might think of polyfidelity as being somewhat like monogamy with more than two people; however adding new members would typically require consensus rather than being a violation of the fundamental compact. The modern, broader term polyamory was coined later, in the early 1990s.