arises in response to a genuine emotional threat... or deliberate manipulation

arises in response to a genuine emotional threat... or deliberate manipulation. There's another reason, though... I've also noticed that some switch in my brain has flipped, and I've started to eroticize jealousy. I occasionally find myself fantasizing about men I care about sleeping with other women, and sometimes the fantasy is hot because I feel mildly jealous. I cannot explain how this happened. It surprised me the first time it happened, believe me. What's really fascinating is that I think the same part of me that eroticizes jealousy, is the part that used to make me feel sick at the thought of my partner sleeping with someone else. Masochism: the gift that never stops giving! I think it's important to note here that I didn't become less jealous because I felt like I "should", or because I was told not to be jealous. In fact, I had an early boyfriend who acted like I was a hysterical bitch every time I got jealous... and he made things much worse. With him, I just felt awful when I got jealous; I couldn't get past it. I felt like he was judging me for something I couldn't help; I felt like my mind was fragmenting as I tried to force myself to "think better" without any outside support; and worst of all, I felt like I couldn't rely on him to respect my feelings. It was the men who treated my emotions like they were reasonable and understandable who decreased my jealousy. It's much harder to be jealous when your partner is saying, "I totally understand," than it is when your partner is saying, "What the hell is the matter with you?" Maybe that's what makes monogamy such an effective jealousy-management tactic: monogamy can be like a great big sign or sticker or button you can give to your partner that says, "I respect your jealousy." Which is not to say that monogamy is always effective for this -- we all know that monogamous people get jealous all the time! (Which only adds to my point that monogamy might be viewed as just one of many tactics, rather than an answer, when jealousy is a problem.) + Focus. There's an oft-repeated joke among polyamorists that "while love may be infinite, time is not." And sometimes, I've found it a little difficult to "switch gears" to a different partner. New Relationship Energy can be a little harder to manage in the polyamorous context than it is in serial monogamy. I've heard of polyamorous couples who specifically take periods of monogamy when one partner really wants one. This seems like it could be problematic -- for example, if my hypothetical primary partner wanted a period of monogamy, and I had a secondary partner (or partners) with a serious emotional connection, then I probably would not be cool with straight-up ignoring my secondary for weeks or months. There'd have to be more of a conversation about it. But regardless, this whole line of thinking makes an interesting showcase of how sometimes, people feel like they just have to focus on one relationship. Personally, I'm quite interested in S&M games of orgasm denial, though I've never had a chance to mess around with it as much as I'd like. I'm also interested in long-term lust management strategies like karezza, where the partners involved choose not to have orgasms -- instead, they maintain a low level of mutual arousal at all times. I have no moral problem with my partners looking at porn or having orgasms on their own, but sometimes when I hear about the effects of choosing not to do those things, it sounds like there's really powerful bonding potential there. Something to keep in mind for the next HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_018604