Where the non-monogamous meet, mingle, or perhaps even matchup

Further evidence that multi-partner consensual relationships continue to gain momentum, here’s a list of many of today’s most popular organizations and ongoing, casual get-togethers offering support to those interested in exploring or already well-versed in polyamory’s possible pleasures—as well as its potential pitfalls.

North America

United States

• Portland Polyamory Meetup (Portland, OR): A social group for people interested in ethical non-monogamy. Our meetups are casual, meet and greet drop-in style hangouts. If you just want to see if there are other non-monogamous people out there, you’ve found some of them!
• Portland Polyamory Outreach Group (Portland, OR): This event-based group organizes gatherings, emphasizing practical support and social bonding for Portland’s polyamorous residents. It reflects the city’s reputation as a hub for progressive relationship models with a structured yet welcoming approach.
• PNW Polyamory Pulse (Seattle, WA): A space for ethical, non-monogamous individuals in the Seattle Metro area to connect, learn, and find support. 
• Bay Area Polyamory Collective (San Francisco, CA): A collective of the Bay Area Polyamory & Consensually Non-Monogamous Groups. A place for polyamorous people to have a collected source for many poly-friendly happenings and resources in Marin, North Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, East Bay, San Jose, and Santa Cruz. 
• Polyamory: San Francisco (San Francisco, CA) This Facebook group hosts regular events for San Francisco’s poly community, leveraging the city’s legacy of alternative lifestyles to foster dialogue and support. It caters to a broad audience interested in exploring polyamory’s practical and emotional dimensions.
• Poly Boston (Somerville/Boston, MA): A group for polyamorous (poly), poly-curious, or poly-friendly people in the greater Boston area. The group events include discussion groups, support groups, potlucks, parties, and other social events.
• PolyColumbus (Columbus, OH): Provides a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment for those exploring or living ethical non-monogamy in Central Ohio.
• Hacienda Villa (New York, NY): Located in Bushwick, this intentional community and event space hosts polyamory workshops and socials, integrating ethical non-monogamy into its sex-positive mission. It’s a unique blend of residential living and educational outreach for New York’s poly scene.
• Open Love NY (New York, NY): This established Facebook group offers monthly meetings and workshops in NYC, focusing on the practical and philosophical aspects of polyamory for its members. It’s a key resource for fostering dialogue and support in a city known for its dynamic relationship cultures.
• Austin Polyamory Meetup (Austin, TX): With over 600 members, this group hosts regular socials and discussions in Austin, catering to a community drawn to the city’s vibrant, unconventional spirit. It provides a platform for education and connection among Texas polyamorists.
• Central Texas Polyamory (Texas, TX) Active on Facebook, this group connects polyamorous individuals across Central Texas, offering a digital space for discussion and occasional in-person meetups. It supports a regional network rooted in Austin’s growing non-monogamous scene.
• Indy Polyamory Meetup (Indianapolis, IN): With over 2,120 members, this Indianapolis group organizes frequent meetups to explore polyamory’s challenges and joys in a Midwestern context. It’s a robust community hub focused on education, support, and social engagement.
• The Boulder Polyamory Meetup Group (Boulder, CO): Supporters of non-monogamous, honest, consensual, multi-partner relationships and families. Talk about open relationships, relationship anarchy, solo polyamory, polyfidelity, honesty, respect, time management, coping with jealousy, and alternate forms of commitment. 
• Spokane Polyamory Group (Spokane, WA): Known for weekly bar meetups, this informal Facebook Spokane group provides a consistent space for polyamorous individuals to connect in a smaller city setting. It prioritizes casual socializing and peer support within Eastern Washington’s tight-knit community.
• Polydelphia Portal (Philadelphia, PA): This Facebook group hosts regular events for Philadelphia’s poly community, offering a platform for discussion and connection in a city with a growing non-monogamous presence. It focuses on building a supportive network for both new and experienced polyamorists.
• BmorePoly (Baltimore, MD): A free, fun community group for anyone interested in a range of honest, sex-positive, and people-positive alternative community and relationship possibilities. It’s the largest and most active group like this in the Mid-Atlantic.

Canada

• Vancouver Polyamory (Vancouver, BC): A resource for the polyamorous community in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and the surrounding area.  
• Victoria Poly 101 (Victoria, BC): This smaller Meetup group facilitates events for Victoria’s polyamorous residents, fostering discussion and support in a coastal city with a growing non-monogamous community. It’s a key resource for connecting like-minded individuals on Vancouver Island.

Europe

• ENM Fam London (London, UK): Non-profit socials to build a non-monogamy fam in London. Inclusive & judgment/discrimination-free community
• London Polyamorous Meetup (London, UK): With over 4,350 members, this group organizes frequent meetups and workshops in London, focusing on the practicalities and ethics of polyamory. It’s a leading force in the UK’s non-monogamous community, leveraging the city’s cosmopolitan energy.
• Polyamorists of Berlin (Berlin, DE): This Berlin Facebook group hosts regular discussion nights, offering a structured forum for polyamorous individuals to share insights into Germany’s progressive capital. It reflects the city’s reputation for fostering alternative lifestyles with an intellectual focus.
• Berlin ENM and Polyamory Group–Psychologist Led (Berlin, DE): With over 1,000 members, this Meetup group organizes socials and workshops in Berlin, a hub for Europe’s non-monogamous scene. It provides a supportive environment for exploring polyamory within the city’s vibrant cultural landscape.
• NoMo Social (Stockholm, SE): An emerging group, NoMo Social hosts events to connect Stockholm’s polyamorous community. It emphasizes ethical non-monogamy in a Scandinavian context and is a developing resource for education and socializing in Sweden’s capital.

Australia

• Sydney Polyamory (Sydney, AU): Active on Facebook, this group connects Sydney’s poly community with online discussions and occasional in-person events, fostering a digital-first approach. It serves as a key network for ethical non-monogamy in New South Wales.
• Polyamory+ Victoria (Victoria, AU): A vibrant and inclusive community dedicated to fostering friendly and safer spaces for everyone exploring or practicing non-monogamous relationship styles. Whether you’re polyamorous, ethically non-monogamous (ENM), a relationship anarchist, in an open relationship, monogamish, or interested in other forms of responsible non-monogamy, you will find a place here.

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post More To Love: North American, European, And Australian Polyamory Support Groups appeared first on Future of Sex.

Berkeley and Oakland make five—with more probably coming soon

In April of this year, Oakland, California’s City Council, passed a law preventing discrimination based on family structure, including those engaged in consensual multi-partner relationships. A month later, Berkeley passed a similar law.

Speaking to Berkeleyside, Lily Lamboy, co-founder of the polyamory advocacy group, Modern Family Institute, said of the decision, “We see polyamory as one of many stigmatized forms of building relationship and family against the backdrop of a culture that really sets you up to ‘couple.'”

Led by Somerville

To date, Berkeley is the fifth US city to formally acknowledge polyamorous relationships; the first was Somerville in 2020, with Cambridge and Arlington, two other Massachusetts towns, doing the same shortly after that.

As we previously reported, Somerville’s decision stemmed largely from the local government’s desire to extend the same legal rights already provided to married couples to unmarried relationships during the COVID pandemic.

Lance Davis, the city’s Legislative Matters Committee chair, explained to MetroWest Daily News, “The first draft required domestic partners to notify the city of any change of address, which struck me as not in line with what married folks have to do, and required that they reside together, which again struck me as something I’m not required to do as a married person, so we got rid of those provisions.”

RECOMMENDED READ: What Marriage in the United States May Look Like in 2036

But as the City Council was poised to vote, another Councilor,  J.T. Scott pulled Davis aside, “[He] reached out and said, ‘Why is this two?’ And I said, ‘I don’t have a good answer. I tripped over my words a bit, and played devil’s advocate, but I had no good reason. So, I pulled it out, went through quickly making whatever word changes necessary to make it not gendered or limited to two people.”

The result might very well be the beginning of a national movement to formally establish multi-partner relationships as socially legitimate and legally protected.

Letter of the law

Similar to ordinances passed by other cities, Berkeley made it illegal to discriminate not just based on a person’s race and gender but their relationships regarding their access to essential services, business, or housing.

While these new protections are good news for polyamorous families, they also extend to less formal arrangements as well, including single or asexual parents with a child or children, casual non-monogamous relationships, and others.

One of the bill’s initial sponsors, Councilmember Cecilia Lunaparra, addressed the Berkeley City Council after seeing it passed unanimously, saying: “As a queer person myself, I’m so happy to co-sponsor this and happy to celebrate love and commitment in all of its forms. This is a step towards making our city inclusive to non-nuclear and non-heteronormative relationships and families.”

Strength in numbers

Five US cities extending anti-discrimination protections to polyamorous relationships may not sound like a particularly impressive accomplishment—especially as the country could be decades or more away from the same consideration and support on a state or national level—but it does demonstrate the rise of multi- or single-partner relationships.

According to more than one scientific study, the US continues to have an ever-increasing interest in polyamorous relationships. Approximately 5% of the US population are already poly, and, as a 2023 YouGov survey indicated, one out of every five citizens said they’d probably be non-monogamous at various times during their lifetimes.

The same survey, as reported by Kentwired, posed the question, “Do you think polyamory will be legalized in the US in the next 50 years?” 

Though 52% responded negatively, an eye-opening 18% were more optimistic—with the remaining 30% stating they were unsure.

All together now

If you’re still not convinced, it’s probably a matter of time before polyamory and other non-heteronormative social structures are granted the same rights as two-partner relationships. Don’t forget for a long time, it was illegal for mixed-race or same-sex couples to marry.

It may not come soon, but as the supportive, inclusive, and progressive people living in Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, Berkeley, and Oakland have shown us, even the smallest steps can still move us in the right direction. 

Image Sources: Depositphotos

The post More the Merrier: Growing Number of US Cities Recognize Polyamory appeared first on Future of Sex.