How Gay and Bisexual Men Can Sustain Strong, Healthy Relationships

Today’s guests, Christopher Stults and J.L. Stewart, are co-authors of the recent article “Consensual Non-Monogamy Relationship Rules Among Young Gay and Bisexual Men: A Dyadic Qualitative Analysis,” published in Archives of Sexual Behavior. Stults is an assistant professor of psychology at Baruch College and at the Graduate Center, CUNY, where he works with students in the Health Psychology and Clinical Science training area. His research is focused on LGBTQ health, with specific lines of research examining intimate partner violence and consensual non-monogamy in these populations. Stewart is a postdoctoral affiliate of the Relationship Health Research Team at Hunter College (CUNY). Her research is guided by a rights-based approach to positive sexuality development and aims to improve health equity among sexually diverse youth. They join The Thought Project to discuss their study, which focuses on the relationships of gay and bisexual men, a population that faces sexual health disparities and unique challenges in their intimate relationships. Specifically, Stults and Stewart analyzed the boundaries and understandings partners have about acceptable behaviors related to their consensual non-monogamous relationships. The study finds that rule negotiations within couples led to increased fulfillment.