A 2010 study by the Center for Research on Gender & Sexuality at San Francisco State University examined the level of monogamy (or lack thereof) in male homosexual relationships in the San Francisco Bay Area. Based on a study of 566 gay couples, lead researcher Colleen Hoff found that 47% had an open relationship, 45% were monogamous, and 8% did not agree on what they were. This is congruent with a number of other studies of male homosexuality. In the same way it is a mistake to think that all male homosexuals are promiscuous, it’s a mistake to think they all embrace the monogamous ideal of marriage.
See also:
Male homosexual relationships often lack the monogamous ideal
Same-sex marriage will likely redefine our concept of marriage
HT: Winterey Knight
Thinking to Believe 
March 11, 2016 at 5:17 am
I have to say, that is lower than I would have thought. Also, I wonder what female homosexual monogamy (or lack thereof) is?
Do you have an equivalent study for heterosexual couples in the same demographic as a comparison?
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March 12, 2016 at 5:34 am
The question I had was what was the point of this post? Scotts questions are better and the answer to the second one is there is not much difference between hetero and homosexual couples:
Click to access Infidelity%20in%20hetero%20couples.pdf
Which I guess gets me back to my first question, what was the point of this post?
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March 16, 2016 at 6:36 am
Bob, if you think there is not much difference, then you don’t understand the point of this research. It’s not saying that 47% of men in same-sex relationships cheat. It’s saying that 47% of same-sex relationships consist of two partners that mutually agree to allow each other to have sexual partners outside of the relationship. That’s not the case with opposite-sex relationships. While I could agree that many men cheat on their girlfriends or wives, they do so behind their back, not with their approval. The point of the post was to show that the way homosexual men “do relationships” is very different from the way heterosexuals do relationships.
Jason
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March 16, 2016 at 6:46 am
Scottspeig, see my comment to Bob. I think the number is pretty high when you consider what it represents (not the % of couples where one partner cheats, but the % of couples who mutually agree to have sex partners outside the relationship). I do think the number of male homosexuals who remain faithful to their partner is much lower based on the studies I have read. McWhirter and Mattison studied 156 male couples who had been in a relationship between 1-37 years. Only 7 couples maintained a monogamous relationship, and none of those couples had been together for more than five years.
A 2003 study by Dr. Barry Adam found that only 25% of the homosexual men he interviewed reported being monogamous, and most of these men were in the relationship for less than 3 years.
Researcher Dr. Maria Xiridou did a study of the sexual habits of gay men in Amsterdam. She discovered that “single” homosexuals who engaged in casual sex had 16-28 partners on average per year. Those in a “committed” relationship had 6-10 partners on average per year.
I don’t know of any studies about female same-sex couples, but I would imagine that they are mostly monogamous because women value monogamy more than men. That’s why opposite-sex couples don’t have open relationships, why it’s typically men in those relationships who cheat, and why the cheating has to be in secret.
Jason
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March 17, 2016 at 5:42 am
Okay, I buy the argument that gays have a higher percentage of open relationships than do lesbian and heterosexual couples. Its consistent across a number of articles on the subject and I do indeed recognize the differences between the groups. What is also consistent is an increase in monogamy over time for all groups, with lesbians and heterosexuals having about the same length of single partner relationships, not because they value monogamy more that gays, but for fear of STDs. And, if I understand the article cited by Wintery Knight, the point was that gay men run an increased risk of HIV due to their lower rates of monogamy (well, duh). Which gets me back to my original question. What’s your point? Are you trying to make a morality argument, or merely restating the conclusions of the various articles?
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