Unicorn hunting

Unicorn hunting is the practice by two people who are in a relationship, usually a heterosexual couple, of seeking a third partner for the relationship temporarily or permanently, usually a bisexual woman, either to join a threesome or to start a polyamorous relationship.[1] The practice is generally viewed negatively by the polyamorous and LGBT community as a form of fetishisation.

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Term

The term "unicorn hunting" comes from, comparable with the legendary creature, how rare a bisexual woman willing to join an existing couple is, as well as their conditions, which can include relational exclusivity (contrary to open relationships with other people), equal attraction to both partners or interest in only having group sex.[1][2] Its use might have started in the 1970s by swinger communities of the time to describe bisexual women available to have a threesome with a heterosexual couple.[3][4]

Practice

Unicorn hunting consists in two people in a relationship, usually a heterosexual couple of a man and a woman, seeking a bisexual woman for the relationship, either to join a threesome or to form a polyamorous relationship.[5] A unicorn polyamory is different from a triad or throuple relationship in that in a throuple the three members are primary partners,[6] while a "unicorn" joins an existing couple, and in that, in a triad rules are usually agreed upon all members, whereas in unicorn polyamory it is assumed that the couple makes the rules, while the unicorn has to follow them.[3] It usually considers the couple as primary partners and the unicorn as the secondary partner, since if the unicorn consents to joining their existing relationship, the unicorn also accepts their conditions.[1] As such, the practice is seen negatively by the polyamorous and LGBT communities due to the power imbalance in the relationship, and is considered to contribute to the fetishisation of bisexual women.[1][3]

Couples looking for a third partner might do it by using dating apps, such as Tinder.[1][7] Vogue India also cited a distinction between "hunters" and "retrievers", where in the latter women find a person for predatory men.[1]

References
  1. Laxman, Shyama (2022-02-23). "Unicorn hunting: How bisexual women are fetishized on dating apps in India". Vogue India. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  2. Kedia, Surabhi (2022-04-06). "What is Unicorn Hunting? Everything You Should Know About It". ThePleasantRelationship. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  3. Johnston, Sally W (2022-06-12). ""You enjoy being a second class citizen": Unicorn dynamics and identity negotiation on subreddit r/polyamory". Sexualities: 136346072211078. doi:10.1177/13634607221107821. ISSN 1363-4607. S2CID 249632443.
  4. Griffiths, Heather; Frobish, Todd S. (2013-11-01). "Virtual Deviance: Swinging and Swapping in an On-Line Network". Deviant Behavior. 34 (11): 875–894. doi:10.1080/01639625.2013.781448. ISSN 0163-9625. S2CID 37235957.
  5. Pincus, Tamara; Hiles, Rebecca (2017). It's Called "Polyamory". Portland, Oregon: Thorntree Press.
  6. Vaughan, Michelle D.; Burnes, Theodore R., eds. (2022). The Handbook of Consensual Non-monogamy: Affirming Mental Health Practice. Diverse Sexualities, Genders, and Relationships. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-5714-5.
  7. Filice, Eric; Johnson, Corey W.; Parry, Diana C. (2023-01-02). "Unicorns on the Digital Range: Bisexual Persons' Experiences of Geo-Social Networking Application Use". Journal of Bisexuality. 23 (1): 50–79. doi:10.1080/15299716.2022.2124214. ISSN 1529-9716. S2CID 252637833.
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