Assembling consensual non-monogamy: Intimacies and multiplicities

Despite growing mainstream familiarity with the practice of consensual non-monogamy (CNM) in the US and similar countries, CNM is still largely considered non-normative. With this comes the risk of reifying it as a ‘kind’ of sexual activity and its practitioners as ‘types’ of subjects. We explore CNM through assemblage theory, which aims to decenter the subject and emphasize affective relationships that operate through lines of force. Assemblage theory proposes that lines of force affect the capacities of persons within an assemblage to create new connections with others, ideas, and, reflexively, with themselves. We ask: how does CNM as an assemblage enhance and/or diminish practitioners’ capacities? Furthermore, we aim to highlight the utility of assemblage theory and its Deleuzo-Guattarian foundations to studying sociological phenomena. To accomplish these goals, we draw on open-ended survey responses from individuals who self-identify as practitioners of CNM.