Sociobiological Behavior Criteria

Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. Polyandry is a form of polygamy where a woman can marry more than one man at the same time, and polygyny is another form of polygamy where a man is allowed to have more than one wife. Polygamy is more known than polyandry. Polygamy is permitted in countries like Australia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Africa, and in other countries like the United States, England, Spain, and Mexico it is not permitted. Many view Polygamy as a sexual desire and satisfaction to be with more than just one man or woman, but for many cultural reasons, man and woman may have more than one wife or husband. As discussed in the video, the meaning of love & polygamy, the positive outcomes of having more than one wife or husband is so they can be provided each other with help.

According to a 2012 study, monogamy has a crucial advantage over polygyny: “the more egalitarian distribution of women, which reduces male competition and social problems”. Not only does it reduce male competition and social problems between individuals, but monogamous marriage also “results in significant improvements in child welfare, including lower rates of neglect, abuse, accidental death, homicide and intra-household conflict” (Friedersdorf, 2015). By shifting male efforts from seeking wives to paternal investment, systematised monogamy increases long-term planning, economic productivity, savings and child investment. Nonetheless, when a high-status man takes two wives, a lower-status man gets no wife. If the high-status man takes three wives, two lower-status men get no wives. This “competitive, zero-dynamic sets off a competition among high-status men in who’s going to get the most wives” (Friedersdorf, 2015), which leaves lower-status men out in the cold. Those men, denied access to life’s most stabilising and civilising institution, are fairly disadvantaged and often turn to behaviours like crime and violence. Thus, polygamy should not be legalised as it creates tension and competition between

As Anthropologist Kimber McKay challenged the world’s outlook on what we believe to be a traditional, normal marriage, I was intrigued by the results of her fieldwork that displayed the different types of marriages occurring around the world. In her research in the Nepalese Himalaya, she lived within the community of polyandrous people participating in their daily life. In Humla, it was common for a polyandrous woman to marry a man and his brothers. McKay shared a video from a polyandrous woman that described the relationship she had with her two husbands. Here are her words: “If the husbands agree with it (polyandry) then it’s good. One can take care of the local work and the other can do outside work.” I hypothesize the reason polyandry

Typically, all of the wives and children all live in the husband’s house. It is patrilocal, meaning that even when the sons marry, he and his wives will reside in his father’s house. This system causes the extended family to have between 5 and 30 members. Thought polygyny has taken place for many of years, the Igbo people are beginning to convert to Christianity. This has given women the legal protection and property rights that were not given in polygyny. “This has not, however, eliminated polygyny.” (Gall 219) The amount of money that a woman’s family can demand as bride price has been limited, but as women become more educated and families have higher expectations of their daughters, parents are demanding more money. The conversion of polygyny and christianity has caused many feuds between

Polygamy is having more than one spouse. There are different types of polygamy; these include polygamy where a man has multiple wives, polyandry in which a woman has multiple husbands, and group marriage where a family consists of multiple husbands and wives. Polygamy is definitely the most popular of the three listed. In the United States the practice of any form of polygamy is illegal and due to this law, many adherents of the lifestyle stays hidden. My perspective of polygamy is that having more than one spouse should remain illegal because marriage means committing to one person alone.

The term “polyamory,” to some, is a confusing word describing a lifestyle found to be even more baffling. However, polyamorous relationships are growing in popularity and have roots dating back hundreds of years. Polyamory is described as the “assumption that it is possible, valid, and worthwhile to maintain intimate sexual and/or loving relationships with more than one person simultaneously, without deception or betrayal” (Morrison, Beaulieu, Brockman, & Beaglaoich, 2013). Polyamorous relationships are a subsect of nonmonogamous relationships that place focus on functionality, happiness, exploration, and love for all involved. Polyamory is not to be confused with terms such as polygyny (multiple wives), polyandry (multiple husbands), or polygamy

Since Darwin’s Origin of the Species, we’ve been told that sexual monogamy comes natural. Mainstream science, as well as religious and cultural institutions, has maintained that men and women evolved in families in which a man’s possessions and protection were exchanged for a woman’s fertility and fidelity.

Polygamous relationships can on some occasions be beneficial towards the woman as they are most likely to be mated with a wealthy older man. Financially this is beneficial for the women because she is able to share the wealth along with several other wives that the wealthy male has. Their children are also ensured a safe future as their father has a well amount of money to spend on them.

Polygamist Marriage is the union including more than two partners. There is a more specific breakdown of Polygamy. Polygyny is a marriage between one man and multiple women. Polyandry is the union of one woman and multiple men. And Lastly Polyamory represents a marriage having both multiple husbands and wives. And despite the fact that Polygamist marriage in illegal in the United States, 30,000 to 50,000 people are living in plural families

The effect this practice has had on woman who marry a man who is a polygamist has shown she is not happy sharing her husband. Many woman think they are ok with the idea of sharing a husband with multiple women going into the marriage but soon realize it is not such a good idea.

An area for farther research why polygamy is practiced and the history of it. Also, some research on how people feel about polygamy in today’s world would be interesting to read about.

Polygamy is “marriage when a person may have more than one spouse” (African Marriage, Panahi). This ideal is also socially limiting women because it is traditionally believed that the more children a family has, the higher the status of a family, especially the men. This means that pregnancy often occupies most of the life of a woman and the fertility rate remains high today. Moreover, forced marriages are common in order to fulfill the traditional belief of Africans. Odile Sankara, the sister of the 1984-1987 Burkina Faso president, Thomas Sankara, even stated: “I condemn it in modern society, where is it no longer acceptable because is leads to harsh conflicts among the women. But in traditional society polygamy is almost obligatory - a family where the man has several wives and numerous children is a family rich in forces to cultivate the fields” (Sivini 30). The period where President Sankara was still governing Burkina Faso was long after colonization and independence, and the country was beginning to develop itself during that time. Even so, as clearly stated by Odile, the traditional ideal of polygamy was still treated with respect and she even mentioned that it was “obligatory.” Marriage was important for women, because “it is her threshold to adulthood. Being married to whoever it is, is better than not being married at all” (Towards Gender Inequality in Burkina 20). However, as a result of polygamy, women’s social boundaries are again limited, as forced marriages cause them to devote all their time and effort to the family. Perhaps in many cases, women don’t desire to satisfy these traditional roles, but because the traditional society expects them to do so, they are obliged to follow these

The word polyamory derives from both Greek (poly) and Latin (amory) roots and can be directly translated to mean "many loves. " This is an idea of which popularity has risen a great deal in mainstream media over the last couple of decades. To the average American, monogamy represents a normal part of life. Children grow up

Among poor people, polyandry was very common. Brothers would share a wife so they would not have to divide their land and wealth. In this manner, they could keep the money and possessions they owned within the family. On the contrary, within some poor families, sisters would share one husband. Although polygamy and polyandry are legal within Tibet and may be prevalent in poor areas, the practice has been reduced. Among rich families, monogamy is much more common. Marriages in Tibet are usually arranged. Usually, parents arranged their child’s marriage, but in a few cases, the young girl may pick her husband, with the consent of her parents.

Polygamy was always practiced in ancient India but whether or not it was popular in public opinion is doubtful. Those of higher social and economic stature usually performed it. If ancient Indian history is studied, it is seen that the rich and the powerful practiced polygamy, while the