Comments on: more primates http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/ Adventures in Online Dating Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:06:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Steve http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/comment-page-1/#comment-734 Steve Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:14:24 +0000 http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/#comment-734 I recently heard about "polyandry". It is the flip side of polyGAMY. Several men are mated to one woman. Apparently, according to wikipedia ( not known for being 100% correct ) it only happens in some remote areas of Tibet. I recently heard about “polyandry”. It is the flip side of polyGAMY. Several men are mated to one woman. Apparently, according to wikipedia ( not known for being 100% correct ) it only happens in some remote areas of Tibet.

]]> By: Steve http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/comment-page-1/#comment-733 Steve Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:12:26 +0000 http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/#comment-733 There is an article about polyamory in today's Washington Post. You need an account to read it, but the accounts are free: http://tinyurl.com/2bwkce There is an article about polyamory in today’s Washington Post. You need an account to read it, but the accounts are free:

http://tinyurl.com/2bwkce

]]> By: Anne http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/comment-page-1/#comment-171 Anne Fri, 25 Aug 2006 17:05:23 +0000 http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/#comment-171 I heard we were genetically closest to the bonobo chimp, which is actually an ape I think (my hubby did a term paper on it for vet tech school. that makes me an authority!) and their sexual behavior is notorious. Primary form of casual social life, and hetero monogamy is a foreign notion to them... I heard we were genetically closest to the bonobo chimp, which is actually an ape I think (my hubby did a term paper on it for vet tech school. that makes me an authority!) and their sexual behavior is notorious. Primary form of casual social life, and hetero monogamy is a foreign notion to them…

]]> By: kmcleod http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/comment-page-1/#comment-169 kmcleod Fri, 25 Aug 2006 11:10:18 +0000 http://virginiavitzthum.com/ilylm/2006/08/24/more-primates/#comment-169 "In 200 words or less, explain monogamy" Err... Er, uh... (those don't count as words) I guess historically, with arranged marriages and mates chosen by parents back when marriages evolved from tribes uniting through breeding their offspring together, monogamy would be necessary for maintaining controlled, family branches and clear lines of inheritance, but polygamous cultures don't seem to have troubles with that. In past and present patriarchal societies, women are controlled like property (or livestock), with infedelity regarded as theft or vandalism. Male infedelity, the institutionalized kind in which discreet use of prostitutes or mistresses are allowed, is approved as long as it doesn't disrupt the family/home unit. So monogamy, or the appearance of it, seems to serve familial stability ("What about the kids? Weren't you thinking of them? Did you care what it would do to your family if the news got out?"). I'm not a family man, but I like monogamy, just as a personal preference. In the mobile, global-linked, job-to-job present, the idea of "home" may be in decline, making monogamy a matter of choice (stronger bonding, stability, disease prevention) instead of an imperative. Of course, if parents immunize their fetuses with the "monogamy gene" to prevent having to raise a polyactive child, choice isn't guaranteed. But modern monogamy? “In 200 words or less, explain monogamy”
Err…
Er, uh…
(those don’t count as words)
I guess historically, with arranged marriages and mates chosen by parents back when marriages evolved from tribes uniting through breeding their offspring together, monogamy would be necessary for maintaining controlled, family branches and clear lines of inheritance, but polygamous cultures don’t seem to have troubles with that.
In past and present patriarchal societies, women are controlled like property (or livestock), with infedelity regarded as theft or vandalism. Male infedelity, the institutionalized kind in which discreet use of prostitutes or mistresses are allowed, is approved as long as it doesn’t disrupt the family/home unit. So monogamy, or the appearance of it, seems to serve familial stability (“What about the kids? Weren’t you thinking of them? Did you care what it would do to your family if the news got out?”).
I’m not a family man, but I like monogamy, just as a personal preference. In the mobile, global-linked, job-to-job present, the idea of “home” may be in decline, making monogamy a matter of choice (stronger bonding, stability, disease prevention) instead of an imperative. Of course, if parents immunize their fetuses with the “monogamy gene” to prevent having to raise a polyactive child, choice isn’t guaranteed.
But modern monogamy?

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