The media and academics always want to know how polyamorous people feel about marriage, but no research has been done on the subject. In the interest of learning more, Loving More has sponsored a polyamory and marriage survey, and they are hoping you will participate.
The survey was designed by Curt Bergstrand, Ph.D. (associate professor of sociology at Bellarmine University and co-author of Swinging In America: Sex, Love, and Marriage in the 21st Century) and Jim Fleckenstein (poly activist and researcher, co-founder of the the Chesapeake Polyamory Network). The aim of the research is described as follows:
This survey is the beginning of an ongoing research effort to gain information about the community of individuals who engage in consensual, non-exclusive intimate relationships, or who are philosophically open to doing so, regardless of their current relationship configuration. We undertake this effort in order better to understand this community, its beliefs, practices, and desires, and it's position within the larger mosaic of humanity.
With knowledge comes the ability to better serve this community, to better represent its interests in the public discourse, and to foster understanding, acceptance and non-discrimination in the wider world.
The survey is fairly brief and all responses will be kept confidential. No individually identifying information will be collected.
It was an interesting survey, and I’m glad I took the time to fill it out.
However, I was sad to see that it made the assumption that both people taking it, and partners of people taking it, were of only two genders: male and female. As someone with a trans* partner; as someone who identifies as pansexual; and as someone who views gender broadly, at the very least the option of ‘other’ (however othering!) would have been a start.
I know you didn’t design the survey – but thought I’d note it here for anyone else planning to take it. I’ll also be emailing the researchers directly.
xx Dee
Just a follow-on from my previous comment, to let you know I had a response from Dr Curt Bergstrand after emailing both researchers yesterday:
Hi Dee – Thank you so much for responding to our survey and giving us your insights into ways it can be improved next time. We completely agree with your criticisms, but we were pretty much stuck with the outdated wordings of some of the questions we used from pre-existing surveys so we have a basis for comparison. Our next survey will not have these problems and we hope you will participate in that one also.
I can accept the basis for comparison requirement – but I am also glad that it will be changing for the next survey :)
xx Dee
It almost looks like a replica of Bergstrand’s research on swingers, just focused on polyamory rather than swinging. Interesting to take the survey though.