On the definition question, in addition to what localdeity wrote:
I assume that on the first axis we consider position “interested in two people” already pretty non-monogamous, while the position “my partner can have sexual or romantic relationships with anyone except one particular person” is still very poly. If that’s the case, your position along “interested in one”/”interested in many” axis can be easily changed if the set of people you know changes, even slightly. This position isn’t a fact about you, more like fact about you and your options in current environment. In contrast, your position along the “restricts partner/doesn’t restrict partner” axis can’t change much if your partner’s environment slightly changes. So if we want the definition of something stable and identity-related using one axis, the second axis is better suited for this purpose.
On practice (your experience may vary) the definition that uses axis “interested in one”/”interested in many” causes kinda missing-the-point arguments from monogamous people, like “I barely have time for one partner”. I think, if the restriction based definition were generally accepted, the discourse would be better.
On the definition question, in addition to what localdeity wrote:
I assume that on the first axis we consider position “interested in two people” already pretty non-monogamous, while the position “my partner can have sexual or romantic relationships with anyone except one particular person” is still very poly. If that’s the case, your position along “interested in one”/”interested in many” axis can be easily changed if the set of people you know changes, even slightly. This position isn’t a fact about you, more like fact about you and your options in current environment. In contrast, your position along the “restricts partner/doesn’t restrict partner” axis can’t change much if your partner’s environment slightly changes. So if we want the definition of something stable and identity-related using one axis, the second axis is better suited for this purpose.
On practice (your experience may vary) the definition that uses axis “interested in one”/”interested in many” causes kinda missing-the-point arguments from monogamous people, like “I barely have time for one partner”. I think, if the restriction based definition were generally accepted, the discourse would be better.
I don’t understand, how is it missing the point? “Interest in more than one” is necessarily affected by practical concerns, non?