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Polygyny: Difference between revisions
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'''Polygyny''' refers to the marriage of a man with several women. | '''Polygyny''' refers to the marriage of a man with several women. | ||
It is | It is the most prevalent kind of [[polygamy]], simply meaning marriage with many partners. | ||
[[Polyandry]] is the rare counterpart in which a woman has multiple men. | [[Polyandry]] is the rare counterpart in which a woman has multiple men, which is historically quite rare, being generally practiced in resource-scarce areas where women had more economic power. <ref>https://www.reference.com/world-view/countries-practice-polyandry-8bd1951429f0175a</ref> | ||
Polygyny has been quite common throughout history, either as a formal or informal institution, with the majority of documented human cultures practicing at least some form of polygyny.<ref>http://eclectic.ss.uci.edu/~drwhite/worldcul/atlas.htm</ref> | |||
Humanities closest extant animal ancestors, the apes of the Pan Genus (Chimps and Bonobos) are polygynous, though the type of polygyny practiced by them is often called polygynandry. Though the '[[Alpha]]' Chimps attempt to monopolize their multiple female partners by force, this is often a futile venture, with the females of those species being highly promiscuous.<ref>https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-history-of-our-tribe/chapter/2-primate-classification/</ref> | |||
Human's proportionately smaller testicle size, and lesser degree of sexual dimorphism between the sexes (compared to other great apes) implies that [[cuckoldry]] was not as common among human's ancestors as it is among their closest living Great Ape relatives. This is due to the fact that mammal species with more promiscuous females typically evolve larger testicles to produce greater amounts of semen in an attempt to displace male competitor's sperm, to win the battle to fertilize the female partner's egg.<ref>https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/010553v1</ref> | |||
== Historical evidence == | == Historical evidence == | ||
Humans are a moderately polygynous species. In the Ethnographic Atlas, of 1,231 societies noted, 588 had frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, and only 186 were fully monogamous. Even fewer, just 4 were polyandrous. Hence, 84.6% of societies were at least mildly polygynous. | Humans are a moderately polygynous species. In the Ethnographic Atlas, of 1,231 societies noted, 588 had frequent polygyny, 453 had occasional polygyny, and only 186 were fully monogamous. Even fewer, just 4 were polyandrous. Hence, 84.6% of societies were at least mildly polygynous. | ||
In traditional societies, men's reproductive variances are approximately 2–4 times those of women. Also the highest lifetime [[reproductive success]] is over 1000, whereas the female maximum is 69, which implies greater sexual inequality for men. In average forager societies, 21% of married women are married polygynously.<ref>https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125563.evpsych113</ref> | In traditional societies, men's reproductive variances are approximately 2–4 times those of women. Also the highest lifetime [[reproductive success]] is over 1000, whereas the female maximum is 69, which implies greater sexual inequality for men. In average forager societies, 21% of married women are married polygynously.<ref>https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119125563.evpsych113</ref> | ||
Women may have reproduced twice as often as men throughout history as a result.<ref>https://incels.wiki/w/Scientific_Blackpill#Before_.27enforced_monogamy.27.2C_women.27s_effective_population_size_was_up_to_17x_larger_than_men.27s</ref> | Women may have reproduced twice as often as men throughout history as a result.<ref>https://incels.wiki/w/Scientific_Blackpill#Before_.27enforced_monogamy.27.2C_women.27s_effective_population_size_was_up_to_17x_larger_than_men.27s</ref> | ||