1. Which section of the book did you find the most surprising?
Surprisingly there are more people practicing polygamy than monogamy today! The author Christopher Ryan talks about societies in the Amazon that practice partible paternity or shared paternity which is a cultural conceptualization of paternity according to which a child is understood to have more than one father. Ryan describes it as, “they believe that a fetus is literally made of accumulated semen. So, a woman who wants to have a child who’s smart and funny and strong, makes sure she has lots of sex with the smart guy, the funny guy and the strong guy to get the essence of each of these men into the baby and when the child is born, these different men will come forward and acknowledge
…show more content…
How do you feel about monogamy after reading this book?
The notions in this reading are dramatic and lengthy which makes it hard to just skim through because it requires much attention. Ryan and Jethá are using a biological perspective to explain why men and women aren't meant to be in lifelong monogamous partners. The authors describe sex with multiple partners more human than animal. I believe monogamy is more uneven on women than on men because women want more of an exclusive relationship where we can create an emotional connection. Men, merely want sex.
In the media women can’t have sex just for pleasure, or because they want something in exchange without being shamed or called out as being a “slut” or “hoe.” The book has open my eyes more and has caused me to not judge others so harshly for not engaging in monogamous activities. I feel that the monogamous relationship came about probably to create a stable relationship so that children can benefit from being raised by two parents or because of some people wanted certain companions to themselves in the past and felt that multiple partners confused things
…show more content…
Regarding the statement, “Humans are not, nor have ever been, wired for monogamy,” I see reference of this through quotes such as, “you can’t turn a hoe into a housewife,” and the new quote, “living life, which people are using as a phrase for getting their hoe phase out of their system. Sex at Dawn begins human sexual behavior in which we mature, go through a period of sexual assortment, then settle down with one person, forever. The American culture has such high value on marriage and monogamy, but porn earnings are more than sport franchise
Polygamy: “A marriage form in which one individual has multiple spouses at the same time; from the Greek words' poly (“ many”) and Gamos (“marriage”)”. Examples of this would the whole history of Africa like no other continent in the world. African societies have managed to see children being a structure of prosperity and a family that has more children were considered to be more powerful.
...ty that does not encourage that kind of behavior in women. During the novel she is told what to do, how to do it and at one point who to marry. She struggles with her growing unhappiness until she finally meets her true love.
Beall, L. (2005). The Impact of Modern-Day Polygamy on Women and Children. Journal of International Cultic Studies, 2 (1), 2-8.
Most American women would shudder at the thought of their husband spending time with another woman. Not Elizabeth Joseph. Joseph chronicles her life in polygamy in an essay that appeared in the New York Times in 1991 entitled “My Husband’s Nine Wives”. Joseph discusses how it is problematic to manipulate her life around her husband Alex, her occupation and her youngster on a daily basis. She argues monogamous relationships are chockfull of “compromises” and “trade-offs”. She mentions how excited the children are when their Father comes to eat once a week. Joseph speaks of making an “appointment” to spend time with him. If it is another wife’s turn, Joseph may interject if she is “longing for intimacy and comfort only he can provide.” (148) Joseph asserts pleural marriage is the only resolution to her problems. Unlike Joseph, most American women are managing a demanding full time job, hyperactive children and their needy husband on a daily basis.
Even now there are many different types of lifestyles from which people can choose. In this day and age where life doesn’t last forever, the concept of cycle marriage is still in play now with the high divorce rate. Even if it's for 40 more years, people don’t want to stay with the same person. This is our society's version of cycle marriage; it is being played out even now when we are not living with the cure for aging. When it comes down to the idea of marriage and what we want, it is more about who you are as a person and your religious beliefs. In The Immortalists, Aubrey de Grey says: "The cure will lead to the re-evaluation of the value of permanent monogamy." However, this statement does not really make sense because the value of permanent monogamy is a very personal thing. Every person has a different value system that is determined by how they were brought up. Just because in the future we may have the option to live forever doesn't mean that people will be necessarily quick to abandon their moral views on the subject of marriage. There are a lot of people who look forward to the idea of spending the rest of their lives together, no matter the length of time, with the person they love. For these people, just the idea of being able to live forever gives them the option to now be with someone they love for both now and for what might me an
Polyamory, like polygamy, refers to the state of conducting multiple romantic relationships at once; however, there are many distinctions between the terms. The most blatant difference is that polygamy specifies the participants are all married to each other, whereas polyamory encompasses a spectrum of relationships ranging from casual to committed. Furthermore, polygamy has its roots in religious and highly patriarchal systems, such as the Abrahamic faiths or the notorious Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Quite distinctly, the lifestyle we now know as polyamory grew out of the hippies’ free love movement in the 1960s, with considerably different values. In its modern form, it is a secular alternative lifestyle that is gradually gaining in popularity. It is estimated that there are over half a million openly polyamorous families in the United States alone.
The article Breaking the Cycle Mother, Daughter Find It Can Be Difficult to Leave Polygamy behind Polygamy: It 's Tough to Break the Cycle by Joan O 'Brien is about a mother’s experience leaving a polygamous marriage. This mother, Betsy Barlow of Salt Lake City also inspired her daughter, Ellen to do the same thing. It is explained that Mrs. Barlow felt that being a part of a polygamous marriage was defeating for women and herself. O’Brien states, “Barlow believes that in practice, polygamy ``suppresses ' ' women”. Most women would drop out of High school to raise children for the one husband and Mrs. Barlow was taught that this was the only way to reach the celestial kingdom. Her parents taught her this and she openly admits to teaching her
The following five models are used to explain the concept of infidelity, based on the marital relationship: the need fulfillment model, the investment model, the deficit model, the self-expansion model, and the personal growth model. Each model explains a potential reason that one might cheat on his or her spouse. Part of the need fulfillment model that intrigued me was that people are attracted to their spouses based on how well they think they can fulfill the following seven specific needs: sex, intimacy, companionship, intellectual stimulation, emotional involvement, security, and self worth. The key word that stood out in this was the word “think.” These people believed that the partners they chose could fulfill their needs, but they later discovered that this was not the case. Perhaps they were infatuated or “blinded by love” so to speak, but whatever the case may be they still cheated on their partners due to unmet needs. The investment model examined what makes one more or less committed to his or her spouse. This model demonstrates that the level of commitment and attraction to one’s spouse hinges on the level of satisfaction and what the individual has to lose from the marriage ending. I would imagine there are plenty of people who stay in their marriages strictly because of children and financial stability. As the article stated, these things act as a “barrier to keep the
Fletcher-Stack, Peggy. “Polygamy: Not as Rare as You May Think.” Beliefnet. Beliefnet, Inc., 2011. Web. 19 Dec. 2011. .
Anderson, Eric (2010). 'At least with cheating there is an attempt at monogamy': Cheating and monogamism among undergraduate heterosexual men. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 27 (7, November), 851-872.
Polygamy is becoming a part of the question, Is this is an alternative lifestyle that should be allowed? There are television shows and criminal cases about polygamy ( Kiesbye). Some common tv shows about polygamy are Sister Wives and Big Love. Since this is a new upcoming type of marriage the tv shows are showing all the good parts about polygamy ,or “fluffing” it up, rather than show any negatives aspects about it. There are multiple things associated with polygamy not just the side where all the family members are happy. There is a darker side to polygamy that the media has not been showng. Polygamy is deleterious to marriage and society because women are treated horribly unequally and horribly during marriage, children are abused, and
The Western Religious leaders and moralists believe only one spouse for life is the highest form of marriage. Some of the most "primitive" peoples are strictly monogamous in their ideals, while some "highly advanced" cultures have moved away from the stri...
There was a time when more smart-conscious decisions were made relating to sexual relationships. In particular, sexual relationships within a marriage. However, times have changed. The pillars that hold up our individual sexual values have started to crumble. It is estimated that two out of three marriages fail due to infidelity. This is a scary statistic considering that people believe a marriage can survive infidelity. This brings us to our first myth: Everyone has affairs.
In today’s society the assumption asserts that there must be only two adults integrated in a relationship, however in polygamous environments, having more than one spouse is traditional. Some may argue that Polygamy is simply just an alternate lifestyle. This, however, ceases to be true. Young girls are being forced to marry older men and sometimes relatives. Little boys are often abandoned because it appears to be competition for older men. Children are victims of sexual and physical abuse. Whereas, for women, they generally become stripped of their money and experience competition against the multiple wives a husband. Although Polygamy is viewed as immoral by society, the main focus point should be saving young children and women because