Blog post: April
Looking at Marriage as a Societal Practice Rather Than Human Nature
Article: Are Humans Meant to be Monogamous?
By Jeanna Bryner, Live Science Managing Editor
In this article, Bryner poses the question on whether
marriage is human nature or simply a federal societal practice made to look
natural. When looking at the whole of
mammals, only a fraction, 3-5% of species have one mating partner their whole
life. Beavers, Wolves and some bats, as
well as humans make up this 3-5%. Bryner
then goes into how mammals have different types of monogamy. Social monogamy is when animals pair up to
mate but will have other sexual partners for flings and short-term
relationships. While Sexual monogamy is
having only one lifelong sexual partner.
Expertise opinion in some individuals is that partnership in mammals was
an evolutionary adaptation to help offspring’s health and increase chance of
life. Bryner then goes into how humans
are unique as mammals. Beside their
cognitive brain function and ability to think about things outside their realm
of reality, the human species stands out due to the father’s investment in
raising offspring. Another unique
feature of the human race is the overall increased parental care compared to
the majority of other primates. Yet
humans have labels for a variety of partnerships from polygyny, single parent,
civil union and monogamy. But humans are
less strict in their monogamous marriages as Geese are in their lifelong
partnerships; even after a mate dies, the goose will not mate. In theory, marriage is a legal creation that
has some natural characteristics but it is not natural in nature. As Professor Schwartz was quoted in the
article, “Monogamy is invented for order and investment—but not necessarily
because it’s natural.” Marriage was
created to bring family, responsibility and organization to society and the
relationship bonds humans make. It is
not required for survival and is not a natural practice encoded in our DNA. (1)
Marriage quite literally is a binding of two people together
by law. Their economic, social and
physical lives will be merged until their death or divorce. In past centuries, marriage was a way to
control women. They were tied to their
husbands and had fewer rights than their male spouses. Luckily the 21st century marriage
is more equal in idea yet some people still lack the legal right to
marriage. Hopefully we will continue to
make advances in society that allow everyone a chance to be married to the
person they love, and for it to be legally acknowledged and socially accepted.
From this semester’s class we have learned about a vast
range of partnership’s and different cultures that promote different types of
sexual encounters. I want to first focus
on the Native American’s as they were in America before any European along with
any European ideal of matrimony. Native
American’s saw sex as a way of getting to know others. It was considered a spiritual act rather than
a marital practice. Instead of sex being
an act performed after a wedding exclusively between two committed people, sex
was a social practice. This made
committed relationships in Native American tribes have a different look than
what modern society paints today. This
is just one example of how marriage in the US has not been with society from
the beginning, it was an import, much like the majority of American culture as
well as the members of the culture themselves. (2)
Another example of alternative marriage culture discussed in
class was the Mormens. The Mormen practiced
polygamy regularly in their culture. They
were very tied to biblical ideas of marriage and that included men having
several wives. The more wives a man could afford, the greater his wealth and
honor in the community. Polygamy did not
start with the Mormens, Native American’s also practiced polygamy in select
tribes. This furthers the truth that
marriage in the US has not remained static. (3)
The final example I’ll give from lecture is the modern
Hook-up culture. Youth today have less
focus on getting married and more on ‘getting some’. It’s a culture where people are getting
married later in life than their parents and grandparents. People see sex as an exploration and
adventure that allows for multiple sexual partners, sometimes at the same time. Sex is a special interaction between two
people but it’s also a chance to have fun and feel pleasure. These three examples showcase the variety of
marriage culture the US has created. Our
idea of marriage is constantly being tested by the younger generations and
influenced from outside the country. The
media is also a force in promoting the social norm surrounding relationship status
and what sexual encounters are expected from certain age groups. (4)
I personally agree with Dr. Schwartz. I don’t think monogamy is part of our human
nature. I think we enjoy the adventure
and thrill of being with someone new because it is healthy to experience sex
with more than one individual. I think
that through experimentation we figure out more about what we want in a partner
and what we want in sex and a relationship.
By experiencing more and different people, you allow yourself to be
loved in different ways and you desire different things. By experimenting with sexual partners you can
better understand yourself and what you want from your significant other.
Endnotes
(1) Bryner, Jeanna. "Are Humans Meant to Be
Monogamous?." LiveScience.
http://www.livescience.com/32146-are-humans-meant-to-be-monogamous.html
(accessed April 26, 2014).
(2) Moore,
Crystal. “Native American Sexuality & Sexual Violation in the Conquest of
the Americas”, UNC-Charlotte, The History of American Sexuality. (Slides 8-11)
Powerpoint 2014.
(3) Moore,
Crystal. “Utopian Communities”, UNC-Charlotte, The History of American
Sexuality. (Slides 34-36) Powerpoint 2014.
(4) Moore,
Crystal. “Beyond Reproduction Part 1”,
UNC-Charlotte, The History of American Sexuality. (Slides 8-10) Powerpoint
2014.
(5) Northwest Territories Health and Social
Services. "Marriage Certificate." Health and Social Services.
http://www.hss.gov.nt.ca/vital-statistics/marriage-certificate (accessed April
26, 2014).
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