What counts as cheating is a more subjective matter than a lot of people like to think. of course, if you’re monogamous the obvious objective line is don’t sleep with others, and if you’re polyamorous the line may or may not be at the emotional level - but there is a lot in between that’s very subjective.

Of course, some of it is unreadable - ie. expecting your partner not look at or check out others, seeing that once you’re in a relationship you won’t stop seeing other people as attractive - but some are reasonable, such as no flirting or anything like that. That being said, this is all inherently subjective.

Speaking for myself, i’m okay with verbal flirting as long as it doesn’t escalate, others may not be okay with it - that’s why you’ll need to discuss it. Some are okay with dancing with others or even kissing/making out, i’d consider that cheating but others may not. For some polyamorous people, they’ll draw the line at sex with people you have an emotional link with or a previous ex, others may not.

Point is, it is always a good idea to draw a line between what is and isn’t cheating early in a relationship so you can both either

a) be okay with your partner’s boundaries and understand them

b) find a compromise if need be

c) if the boundaries are at a point of incompatibility, break up

I see a lot of confusion amongst couples with behavior one would put at the line of cheating while the other disagrees. Discuss it and talk about it, it’ll make things easier for everyone in the future.

This came up twice so i’ll nip it in the bud early - the reason why i bring up polyamory is to demonstrate that even in these tiny minority, niche style relationships, people do have their own limits and boundaries. This isn’t about comparing monogamy to polyamory, i brought up polyamory to demonstrate that even in ‘extremes’, people have boundaries that that need to be discussed.