One Penis Policy
Quick Definition
A one penis policy (OPP) is an agreement in which a couple permits outside sexual connections for the female partner only with other women — not with other men — restricting what is often a bisexual woman's options based on the male partner's comfort level.
What is One Penis Policy?
One penis policy — commonly abbreviated OPP — refers to a relationship rule in which a couple (typically a heterosexual couple with a bisexual or bi-curious female partner) permits the female partner to have sexual connections with women but not with other men. The male partner remains the only man in the arrangement.
The OPP is one of the most debated and frequently criticized concepts in ethical non-monogamy communities. The criticism is pointed: an OPP typically allows a male partner to engage with other women while restricting his female partner to same-sex connections only. This asymmetry reflects — and in critics' view, reinforces — a double standard that treats the female partner's bisexuality as acceptable but limits her autonomy in ways that are not applied equally.
Defenders of OPP arrangements argue that any relationship can set any limits it chooses, and that a couple who has explicitly negotiated and agreed to this structure has the right to operate within it. The ethical requirement is honest disclosure — a woman with an OPP agreement needs to be transparent about it with potential female partners, who may have their own feelings about the dynamic.
The ENM community's criticism centers specifically on cases where the OPP is imposed rather than mutually agreed — where a male partner effectively constrains his bisexual female partner's autonomy based on insecurity rather than mutual, reasoned agreement. This pattern is identified as a form of control that contradicts the stated values of ethical non-monogamy.
For platform purposes, OPP is a relevant piece of disclosure information. Couples operating with this agreement should be transparent about it in their profiles and early conversations.