Not Tilda Swinton again! She brings any fantasies about open relations to a screeching halt.

As a person ages and hormonally driven decisions start to "peter out", a wiser person looks back on things they did and situations they got into in years gone by and hopefully they are able to laugh at their youthful foolishness. As a person grows wiser, they are able to make decisions based on things other than satisfying their genital iurges. Deeper relationships can be developed. Surely there are people who think with their secondary brain throughout their lives, but IMO they are lacking something and might want to develop other qualities and interests.

I have never been able to understand the one gender's idea that they have to "spread their seed" in this day and age. Most people take measures to not reproduce indiscriminately, unless perhaps they are in outlawed mormon sects or living in an undiscovered culture somewhere. There are way too many people already. If "spreading the seed" was necessary in early human development, why hasn't intellectual development overtaken biology? Have we really not progressed much at all? Is this used as an excuse? If not, and for so many other reasons, it seems the only real purpose for the two sexes to mix is for reproduction. They are like two separate and distinct species who can never really understand each other.

I'm generalizing, of course, but I base my thought and questions on years of observation. Someone once said "Ah, the sweet mystery of life." Perhaps it was and will always be a mystery.

Open relationships require more responsibilty than other types of relationships.

Responsibilty, for yourself, and for the other.

It requires great courage and great respect, in our society, to give this much freedom to those you love.

Might I suggest one other possible alternative? Perhaps they are difficult to maintain because they are simply difficult to maintain. Perhaps man's sexual urges would find them in a different bed every night of the week. But there are other urges and needs at play here too. And, it's more than just the intellectually uninlightened that living your life based upon the desires of your sexual organs just might not be the most healthy decision to make. Not to mention the fact that it is a completely selfish way of life.

There really are many problems to grappel with, beyond the stereotypes and judgements of others.