Unicorn

Kitchen-table polyamory describes a relationship network where partners and their partners are comfortable sharing friendly social time. The image is of people being able to sit together at a kitchen table. It does not mean everybody dates one another, lives together or must become close friends. The term concerns the social connections around relationships rather than a required household structure. Someone might enjoy occasional meals with a partner’s other partner while keeping their own relationship private. Different people can want different amounts of contact, and those preferences may change. Treat invitations as optional and ask before sharing another person’s private information. A desire for a friendly network does not justify requiring attendance, closeness or emotional disclosure. If someone prefers parallel relationships with less contact, discuss practical arrangements respectfully. There is no need to rank one social style as more mature or more caring than another.

A polycule is a network of connected polyamorous relationships. It may include partners and their other partners, without everyone dating everyone else. The word describes connections rather than a fixed group size, shared home or agreed hierarchy. Each adult’s involvement and boundaries still need to be understood individually. A simple network might include one person with two partners who are not romantically involved with each other. Larger networks can have several overlapping connections. A diagram can help explain who is connected, but it should not disclose someone’s identity or private relationship without permission. Being part of the same polycule does not automatically create friendship, sexual contact, shared finances or responsibility for every member. Ask which information needs to be shared and who wants social contact. People may join, leave or change a connection; the network label never removes their individual choice.

Soft swap and full swap are informal swinging terms for different agreed limits on sexual contact with other adults. Soft swap commonly excludes penetrative intercourse with outside partners; full swap may include it. Neither label is a complete agreement, and people use the words differently, so ask what is meant. These descriptions are vocabulary, not instructions or stages someone must progress through. Soft does not mean risk-free, and full does not mean consent to everything. Each adult decides independently whether they want any contact, with whom and under what conditions. A couple’s agreement cannot decide on behalf of another person. Discuss boundaries in plain language before making assumptions, including privacy and relevant sexual-health information. Anyone can pause, decline or change their mind. Attendance at a venue, a previous experience or a profile label does not replace present consent. The related swinging guide explains agreements and etiquette without explicit sexual instructions.