SSC 101-2
Research Paper
Monogamy versus Polygamy Nobody ever said marriage was easy. Marriage is a vow to remain honest, true, and faithful, and a promise to always love and cherish the chosen one. In many cultures worldwide, young girls dream of the day that her knight in shining armor will come to her, sweep her off her feet, and propose marriage in a rush of romance. This dream of love is instilled in cultural values and beliefs that affect the child throughout his or her upbringing, which result in her expectation of her one-and-only. There are, however, cultures in which young girls have a different expectation for the moment that marriage will come for her. Rather than a dream of love, acceptance of an understanding of a
…show more content…
As in the hunter-gatherer societies of previous ages, women are responsible for gathering supplies needed for the family survival, cooking, caring for the sick, and nurturing in general.
Issues with Monogamy Monogamy is difficult to uphold, and there are many reasons for its failure. “Marital infidelities, the pursuit of younger women, the ‘bimbo’ and ‘trophy wife’ syndromes – all are essential breaches of the monogamous social contract.” (Tucker, 1993, p. 35) Both men and women commit the crime of infidelity. Once the crime is committed, it is often difficult to maintain the monogamous relationship, and the union ends. Physical and natural urges are best suppressed within a monogamous marriage to protect the security of the relationship. Another issue with monogamy is the rise of women’s rights and movements to further the possibilities for women in the working world. As women become more empowered, they find themselves dissatisfied with their monogamous partners. “The rise of single motherhood is basically the expression of female discontent with monogamy.” (Tucker, 1993, p. 36) Women are now breaking out of the traditional roles and are able to provide for themselves what traditionally they had to rely upon men to provide. Therefore, the main function of the male as provider is not as attractive to women anymore, and therefore, not enough to keep
The Native women were also responsible for raising the family. While being married to a trader, the wife was supposed to act as one of their wives from back home. Usually the wife/mother would wake up early in the morning and start the day such by making food or even preparing the furs for them to be sent back to Europe. Most women would also catch the food for the family, while their husbands were occupied with the trades. They were also responsible for raising their daughters and teaching them the general skills of a woman. The sons would also stay with their mothers at home. However, when they became men they would follow their fathers and learn the business.
Modern, contemporary society’s mindset on marriage has shifted considerably over the years. Some research has noted the increase in early sexual experiences, greater acceptance of cohabitation and the increase in narcissistic tendencies, are complicating and muddying the ideals of what marriage means to people today. Research done on this subject resulted in several studies that found that spouses who did not believe that marriage would last forever, were less likely to commit to the relationship financially and were more likely to have extramarital affairs.
This article from “The Real Truth about the Female” by Barbara Ehrenreich targets many beliefs that women were underestimated. The main theory suggested in this document is that, women had to follow the traditional duties. Early theories are being questioned as a result to women proving many things over the years that were often overlooked. Ehrenreich states in his article, “it does strongly suggest that in the Stone Age family, Dad-the-hunter was not the only provider.” There is a great amount of evidence that suggest the theory that women worked as hard as men. Adrienne Zihlman and Nancy Tanner stated “among surviving “hunting” peoples, most of the community’s calories—up to 70%—come from plant food patiently gathered by women.” This fact
Women tended crops and cared for the home. Their ability to be fertile was important. Events like the Green Corn Ceremony were established to sustain the fertility-ness of the world.
These women were responsible for tending house, bearing and caring for children, and domestic manufacturing. These women worked hard to care for their families and to turn the raw materials their husbands provided into useable goods.
Women played a very important role in the life of Native Americans. They were more than just people in charge of the tribes, they were builders, warriors and crafts women's basically everything. Their strength was essential to the to the survival of the tribes. They were in charge of gathering materials to build everyone's homes.
Within Canada we have a generous amount of freedom but this leads to the abuse of our system. This is especially true with regards to polygamy in Bountiful, BC. Because women are susceptible to mental abuse in polygamist relationships it should continue to be illegal in Canada. If this law is in enforced it would help women to be freed of the oppression caused by male domination, eliminate the need for women to suppress feelings that conflict with the ideals of the polygamy life, and aid in avoiding depression resulting from the build-up of concealed feelings.
The men were responsible for hunting and fishing. While the women were in charge of farming (if they did any) and of gathering various types of berries, nuts, tubers, and other plants to eat. Women’s had lots of jobs to do such as, taking down and setting up the family’s Wigwam, looking after the kids, and making all the clothes. Men usually travelled long distances to catch food. These were the family roles of the Eastern Woodland people.
As humans settled down to grow crops, women seem to have been responsible for much of the labor, giving them an advantage as new social roles were being created. They were responsible for feeding society, as well as for carrying and nursing the next generation. (Mahdavi, 2012) Women being responsible for the next generation is a very big responsible. Not only were they responsible for growing crops and providing meals for their families they were expected to make the next generation ready to follow in their footsteps in order to survive.
Unsatisfied with their partners results in divorce rates and infidelity. These have increased over the years, blemishing the institution of marriage. People may believe that compromises and self sacrifice in a marriage make it a failed institute but the same reasons make a marriage successful. A married man has a constant in his life- his partner. The security and companionship in the relationship helps him achieve happiness. The same sharing is now a pleasure, a way to prevent loneliness (Argyle; 1999). Marriage is known to cause greater satisfaction, greater self esteem and less distress. Evidence shows that married men and women are happier.
Girls all over the world are forced into marriages due to financial necessity, tradition and to ensure their future. Most of these girls married are at a young age: “One third of the world’s girls are married before the age of 18 and 1 in 9 are married before the age of 15”( “Child Marriage Facts and Figures”). The young ages of those being married reveal how crucial it is to resolve this problem. When child marriage occurs the parents of the bride usually chose the groom for their daughters; and these grooms can be three times older than the young brides. Some children are brought into the world of marriage at the of 8 or sometimes less depending on their cultural views. The following can be used to help reduce the impact of early
What does marriage mean? By definition, marriage is “the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife” (Webster’s Dictionary). Most people claim that they want their marriage to last a lifetime. Because over half of all marriages in the United States end in a divorce, most people lack the understanding of what it takes to stay married. I believe that couples should become more aware of the commitment that they are making when they enter into marriage.
Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse and is culturally accepted in many parts of the world, but is illegal in the United States. There are two well known forms of polygamy, both of which are still presently practiced in numerous cultures globally, polygyny and polyandry. These practices take place in societies where it is important to have either more men or more women in a families’ household based on the kind of environment they reside in. This paper is going to take a look at who practices polygamy, the history of polygamy in the United States, and how this kind of polygamous lifestyle affects the children that are the products of these family structures.
Though not much is known about pre-historic man or woman, I have to guess that the struggle to stay alive alone must have taken all of early man’s time both day and night. Based on this thought, it is hard for me to imagine how roles outside the main task of staying alive would have been divided by gender. Women and men both probably foraged for edible foods and probably hunted together in pairs I would guess. Since groups were small I imagine roles were shared equally. As the groups became larger, more organized and more advanced in agriculture, gender roles probably became more prominent. In early times, a woman’s primary role became childbearing and keeping the home environment, whether it be in a cave, mud hut or other structure.
In return for the ephemeral joys of change, I am sure you are motivated by love, a love that existed well before your marriage and that fate has not been able to satisfy.”