I created this blog to carve out a space to help understand and explore certain aspects of what I currently conceive of as advertent relating.

Academic-jargon Definition

By advertent relating, I am trying to encapsulate something approaching the following: an exercise of voluntary and volitional agency by a person with respect to conceiving, orienting toward, and/or practicing connections, linkages, or other forms of relations with one or more other natural person(s) where all people concerned exercise such agency. Regarding this notion of advertent relating, I am particularly concerned with exploring possibilities to conceptualize and instantiate such relations that are not characterized by inadvertent conformance to mononormatively configured values, ideas, arrangements, frameworks, or institutions.

I realize that is a mouthful. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So, here’s an attempt at a plain-speak definition.

Plain-speak Definition

Advertent relating means that all the people in a relationship intentionally and knowingly evaluate and decide whether or not sexual and romantic exclusivity between — or among — them is their preferred relationship structure.

Updated: June 2022.