Exclusivity is the idea of giving and receiving only from one person.
You can be exclusive on various levels:
· Sexual exclusivity
· Time exclusivity
· Flirting exclusivity
· Physical contact exclusivity
· Intimacy exclusivity
· Personal space exclusivity
· Etc.
Sexual exclusivity is usually agreed within a committed relationship.
Some couples decide consciously to stretch that limit and go into an open relationship where the idea of sexual exclusivity is dissolved.
What about flirting, having contact with other men or spending an evening with a close male friend?
Is this okay?
Different couples have different models. What matters is that two persons agree and that it works both ways.
Suppose you work in an office and tend to flirt with your colleagues. You are in a steady relationship. You partner knows about it. He knows you are faithful and that you would never cheat.
You trust each other and he enjoys as well flirting sometimes with other women, especially in social occasions.
As you can see, flirting can be innocent and validate you.
The limits of the couple’s boundaries can be stretched and redesigned according to what you want and what fits for your relationship.
If you feel that your relationship is too limiting, you could experiment with slightly stretching these boundaries while sharing intimacy and sex only with your partner.
Boundaries in relationships can be sometimes stretched and redesigned according to what you want.
What matters is that you agree on a relationship “model” which fits you both.