Polyamory could get more legal protection
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This Valentine's Day, more Californians are thinking about love — beyond monogamy.
Why it matters: Media coverage, a buzzy new memoir and shows like "Couple to Throuple" are bringing polyamory into mainstream conversations, but California is just beginning to introduce bills protecting people from the stigma that can come with being in relationships with multiple people, Axios' Carly Mallenbaum and Mimi Montgomery report.
By the numbers: Data is limited on the prevalence of polyamory — and surveys differ in how they ask about relationship preferences — but there seems to be an uptick in openness to it.
- In San Diego, 27% of OkCupid daters over the past two years said they would consider an open relationship, according to data shared with Axios.
- About one-third of polled American singles say they've had a consensually nonmonogamous relationship, according to Match's 2024 Singles in America study — and a slightly higher proportion described their ideal relationship as something other than monogamy in a 2023 YouGov survey.
Yes, but: A harmful stigma can be associated with consensual nonmonogamy, and laws protecting and supporting people in these relationships are limited.
- Unlike gender, race or sexual orientation, relationship structure isn't among the categories typically protected when it comes to housing and work.
- Being polyamorous can also be a barrier in child-custody cases.
What's happening: This week, Berkeley and Oakland are introducing family and relationship structure nondiscrimination bills, representatives from the Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition tell Axios.
What they're saying: "As a millennial living in Oakland … I know plenty of people who are polyamorous but wouldn't say that out loud," says Oakland City Council member Janani Ramachandran, who says she's the first LGBTQ woman of color to serve on the council.
- Ramachandran plans to introduce to the rules committee Thursday a nondiscrimination ordinance protecting diverse family and relationship structures, she tells Axios.
- She hopes it could lead to a "waterfall effect" and encourage school districts and even state lawmakers to protect all kinds of families.