Polyamory

Polyamory, not to be confused with polysexuality, is the practice of consensually engaging in multiple intimate relationships at the same time.

A polyamorous relationship is not the same as cheating. Every one in a polyamorous relationship has mutual feelings for one another.

Original Polyamorous Pride Flag
There are multiple different polyamorous flags. The most popular poly pride flag was created by Jim Evans in 1995, but is disliked by the community because of the emphasis on polyamorous people who hide their relationship, and the fact that the flag wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing.

Evan's flag includes three stripes, from top to bottom, blue, red, and black. It has the Greek lowercase letter "pi" in the center of the flag in yellow. Blue represents openness and honestly from all parties involved in the relationship. Red represents love and passion. Black represents solidarity with those who must hide their relationships from the outside world. Yellow represents the value on emotional attachment to others.

New Polyamory Pride Flag
In 2019, this flag was voted by a Texas queer activist group to be the new polyamorous flag. The flag has three stripes, red, yellow, and blue, (the yellow being the smallest), and a black triangle in the corner. The meaning was mostly kept the same, with red representing love and passion, yellow representing the value we place on emotional attachment to others, blue representing openness and honesty between partners, and black representing solidarity with those who must hide their relationships from the outside world, as well as those who are more likely to face backlash for being poly.

The yellow stripe was made the smallest to represent the value of emotional attachment to others. Making it smaller makes it seem more precious.

The black was changed to span the entire flag to represent solidarity in all aspects, as it touches and affects every part of the flag.

Alt New Polyamory Pride Flag
The creator of this flag has specifically requested to remain uncredited for comfort. Flag now submitted as public domain at the request of the creator.

Molly Makes Things' Polyamory Pride Flag
This flag was first posted by "Molly" on their website (mollymakesthings.com). It was intended to be inclusive of all polyamorous people. The flag includes four stripes, light green, dark green, light blue, and dark blue, with a white infinity heart in the center.

Molly explained the meaning of the flag in a blog post on their website. Light green for growth, dark green for balance, light blue for freedom, and dark blue for trust. The infinity heart touches every color in the flag, unifying the concepts that the colors represent.

Terminology
The word polyamorous was first coined by Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart in her article A Bouquet of Lovers, written in 1990 for Green Egg Magazine. She defined it as "the practice, state or ability of having more than one sexual loving relationship at the same time, with the full knowledge and consent of all partners involved."

Etymology
The term polyamory is made up of three parts, "poly", meaning multiple, "amor", meaning love, and the suffix "-y".