“Oh! How Modern! And... Are You Ok with That?”: Consensually Non-Monogamous People’s Experiences When Accessing Sexual Health Care

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant demographic data.

Characteristic		n	Valid %
Age
	18 to 29	12	18
	30 to 44	38	57
	45 to 64	17	25
Gender identity
	Cisgender woman	36	54
	Cisgender man	18	27
	Non-binary/gender fluid	12	18
	Transman	1	1.5
Sexual identity
	Bi/Pansexual	45	67
	Heterosexual	12	18
	Gay male	7	10
	Lesbian	2	3
	Androcentric	1	1.5
Race
	White	60	90
	Black/Mixed/Asian	7	10
Nationality
	British	38	57
	European	11	16
	Other	18	27
Place of residence
	UK	51	76
	USA/Canada	10	15
	Europe	5	7.5
	Australia	1	1.5
Social class
	Middle class	45	67
	Working class	14	21
	No response	8	12
Level of education
	Postgraduate	31	46
	Undergraduate	28	42
	School	8	12
Type of consensual non-monogamy
	Polyamory	32	48
	Relationship anarchy/solo poly	28	42
	Swinger	4	6
	Uncategorized	3	4
Out or not
	Yes	22	33
	Yes to friends and family but not at work	16	24
	Mixed/ partially	25	37
	No	4	6

Table 2. Themes, sub themes and indicative quotes.

Theme	Sub-theme	Indicative quote
Consensual non-monogamists’ approaches	Passing	I generally let the healthcare professional assume that I’m not in relationships at all, but have just had “casual” sex with three people. There’s no real reason for this, other than wanting to get the experience over and done with as soon as possible, with the least possible judgment. (30, female, bisexual, solo poly/relationship anarchy)
	Proudly out	I disclose so that they have a better idea about my sexual health risks and how I try to mitigate the risks. Most often I initiate the disclosure as they usually don’t ask (37, cis female, heterosexual, polyamorous).
Clinicians’ responses	Lack of knowledge	They didn’t really react much, except maybe with a degree of curiosity … [I was] somewhat irritated because it was clear that the GP in question didn’t quite understand what was going on (31, non-binary, queer, antihierarchical queer relationship anarchy).
	Matter of fact	My primary obgyn is very supportive. He is well versed in the lingo and understands the primary, secondary etc relationship hierarchy (34, female, bicurious, monogamish).
	Harmful assumptions	The GP was visibly shocked and I felt like he was treating me as a sex worker (43, pansexual, gender nonconforming, relationship anarchist).