Ligamy In Women And Men: What Is It And What Types Are There?

Why does cheating happen? Stop loving? Didn't love? Or love, but not one person? Polygamy - what is it? Why and how did it arise? What about women? There are so many questions, we will try to find answers to them.

The content of the article

1 What is polygamy?
2 It comes in several types
3 Origins of polygamy
4 What's in religion?
5 Stereotypes regarding polygamy
6 Statistics and reality

What is polygamy? I

Polygamy is a form of marriage in some nations, which allows a spouse of one sex to have several spouses of the other sex at the same time. Due to the patriarchal order of the past, this term originally meant only polygamy, that is, the cohabitation of a man with several women, and on completely legal grounds.

It can be of several types2

1. Polygyny or polygamy. This phenomenon is still widespread in the eastern countries of Islam, in particular in the Middle East. A man can have up to 4 wives, more is allowed only to rulers and confidants. Interesting is the data of sociological studies conducted in countries where polygamy is officially allowed by law. If you believe them, then only 3 to 20% of men enjoy this right. Most likely, this is due to the fact that everyone can afford to support several wives and children, respectively.

2. Polyandry or polyandry. This form of marriage is not as common as polygyny. It is practiced by about 50 nationalities around the world, officially legalized in some countries, these include:

Nigeria;
Tibet;
Polynesia;
regions of the Far North;
Indian states of Zanskar and Rajasthan.

There is also fraternal polyandry when a girl marries men who are brothers. This is done for purely economic reasons, in order to avoid the division of hereditary lands.

3. Group marriage. Several men and women at once unite into one family, raising common children and running a joint household. It is still practiced in the Marquesas Islands.

Polygamy is opposed to monogamy, but at the same time the latter can be multiple and there is often confusion in terms. If a person divorced and remarried many times, this is absolutely not the same as if he had several official spouses at the same time.

The term polygamy comes from the Greek language and is formed by a combination of two words: poly - numerous and gamos - marriage. In Russia until the middle of the 18th century, the word "polygamy" was used. The term "polygamy" is used in many scientific disciplines: psychology, sociology, history, zoology, biology, ethics of religious studies, economics.

The origins of polygamy3

What is polygamy? Where did the confrontation between polygamy and monogamy come from? Departure from the norm or did nature really need such a relationship? To understand these issues, one should look into the past and find out how it even arose.

The very concept of "marriage" first appeared in our distant primitive ancestors. It was needed to regulate relations between men and women, as well as between children and parents. The norm at that time was the union of several people, where each remained the opportunity to have a connection with another partner.

Another reason for the predominance of polygamous relations in the early stages of society's development was the constant struggle for life. At that time, the man performed two main roles: a warrior and a breadwinner. For this reason, the ratio of male and female population was in favor of the latter, there were not enough husbands for all women.

But the system of paired relations in the usual sense for us first appeared in the legislative law of Ancient Greece and Rome. But it had nothing to do with the moral component of the issue, the whole thing was solely about money, the settlement of hereditary issues, and so on.

In pre-Christian Russia, polygamy and even the institution of concubines were not considered something wrong, on the contrary, it showed male consistency. It was practiced by everyone: from princes to peasants. After the baptism of Rus, people were in no hurry to leave behind the old traditions, they existed until the very end of the 12th century, although this was condemned by the church.

It turns out that monogamy is a relatively new phenomenon, while polygamous unions originate from the most ancient centuries.

What's in religion? 4

Christianity only accepts monogamy. According to the Bible, a man can only be happy if he loves one woman. It is for this reason that God created the couple of Adam and Eve as the ideal of a highly spiritual marriage union.

In Judaism, polygamy is not prohibited, but it is possible only under certain circumstances, for example, if the first wife is sterile, but the family must continue. However, monogamy is still considered sacred for the protection of women.

Buddhism by its nature is not prone to condemnation, this applies to multiple marriages, but it also does not welcome them, they rather go beyond the confines of religion. But the Buddhists of Tibet accept that one woman has two spouses at once.

Hinduism permits polygamous relationships if they do not create problems, thus belittling the man.

Islam is the only world religion that has always favored polygamy due to its ancient cultural and social context.

Stereotypes regarding polygamy5

Until now, this phenomenon is perceived by people very ambiguously, causes a lot of controversy and attracts public attention. An interesting situation has developed around her, filled with prejudices rather than scientific conclusions.

Nowadays, it has become popular to use polygamy as an excuse for male cheating. Allegedly, this behavior is inherent in the genes of the stronger sex by nature itself, and the main task of men is to leave behind a large offspring. Achieving the best result in this is possible only in conditions of polygamy.

That is, it is the key to the preservation of the human population. It also explains why women are monogamous. Their role in nature is the preservation of existing offspring, and not its increase. This is how men look at polygamy, which has no scientific basis.

As well as the opinion that men are more polygamous than women.

Statistics and reality6

Judging by polls and experiments, the stronger sex really tends towards a greater number of sexual partners. According to sociological studies conducted in the United States, men want to have 18 sexes in their entire life, and women only 4.

In fact, the number of sexual partners is usually almost equal (3.5 for women, 4 for men). A large number of Americans of both genders remain faithful to one single person throughout their lives. True, among those over 60, this percentage is higher than among thirty-year-olds (40% and 25%, respectively).

Simply put, people who participate in surveys usually express their desires, trying to fit into social norms, expectations and stereotypes. According to them, it is quite normal for a man to strive to have as many sexual partners as possible, moreover, it elevates them among other "alpha males". For a woman, such behavior is a completely unacceptable deviation from the norm in a decent society.