The Myth of Monogamy


The Myth of Monogamy: Fidelity and Infidelity in Animals and People is a 2001 book by psychologist David P. Barash and psychiatrist Judith Eve Lipton.

Summary

The titular "myth of monogamy" alludes to the popular belief that most animal species are naturally monogamous, and that lifelong monogamous marriages have been the norm for most human beings and societies. Barash and Lipton explain that monogamy is rarely found in nature, and that polygyny—wherein a single male will mate with several different females—has been the norm for most human societies since at least as far back as the Neolithic Revolution. This is accounting for practices like concubinage, polygamy and related phenomena such as the Coolidge effect. In comparing the sexual behavior of humans with that of other animals, Barash and Lipton argue that monogamy only tends to form among species with high levels of Parental investment. However, the authors also argue that infidelity remains common among humans and animals alike, for various reasons such as dual-mating among females and increasing reproductive success among males. For this reason, infidelity and polygamy are especially common in societies with high Social stratification, wherein powerful males may take multiple wives and women may pursue more discrete sexual relations with more romantically desirable partners.