Monogamy Is Unnatural
Humans are creatures that find it difficult to be faithful to one partner for life. The search pattern for many human mating partners is a trait passed down from predecessor species during evolution.
Monogamy is not human nature. Human ancestors had many mating partners. Although the actual reason why humans became monogamous is not clear, social structures can turn humans into monogamists.
Infidelity, betrayal of commitment, as well as a fight for a partner have become a never-ending issue. Although already bound by a legal marriage relationship, the hunt for a partner seems endless. Not infrequently, the competition to get a mate ends in conflict, the spread of disease, and even war.
Humans are creatures that find it difficult to be faithful to one partner for life. The search pattern for many human mating partners is a trait passed down from predecessor species during evolution.
Only 3-5 percent of the 5,000 mammals form a lifelong monogamous bond. Super loyal creatures with partners include beavers, wolves, foxes and hoofed animals. Humans do not belong to the super loyal group. "Modern monogamous cultures only existed 1,000 years ago," Kit Opie, an evolutionary anthropologist at University College London, England, told CNN on 18 May, 2016.
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The earliest primates, 75 million years ago, were solitary creatures. Adult primates meet when the breeding season arrives. Around 16 million years ago, all primates evolved to live together in groups. Mating with multiple individuals in primates began to occur.
But the evolution of humans compared with animals moved in a different direction, namely monogamy. "The human species evolved to build committed relationships between men and women to raise children in marriage bonds, whether polygynous, single parents, or monogamous," said University of New Mexico evolutionary anthropologist Jane Lancaster in LiveScience, on 6 September, 2012.
Human monogamy is a social monogamy, which is a relationship between married couples who are committed to raising children, but still have sexual relations with other individuals.
But monogamy does not mean having one partner for life. Human monogamy is a social monogamy, which is a relationship between married couples who are committed to raising children, but still have sexual relations with other individuals.
The use of the term social monogamy is not agreed upon by all scientists. Social and evolutionary psychologist at the University of Michigan School of Public Health in the United States, Daniel Kruger prefers to call it mild polygyny.
There are several types of monogamy. In addition to social monogamy, there is sexual monogamy, namely having one partner during the mating season. There is also serial monogamy, i.e. mating with
one partner until death and then the living individual marries again and also genetic monogamy, which is the offspring of genetically tested female individuals from one male.
"For paternal investment [fathers taking care of children], humans are special. At the same time, humans are a polygynous species," he said.
Reproduction investment
The evolutionary process has made men more active outside the home so that they are more likely to have sex with people who are not their committed partners. When he returns home, he becomes a father to his child. For women, sex outside the bond means losing the father who raised her child.
Males or men, quoted from Livescience, on 20 November, 2006, have many mating partners to spread genes. However, females have the power to choose the best male for their offspring.
Monogamy is an expensive investment, requiring the animal to place all reproductive investment in one individual. As the number of qualified individuals is limited, the competition is fierce.
Bernard Chapais of the University of Montreal, Canada, as quoted by The New York Times, 2 August, 2013, said 17 percent of human culture is monogamous. The majority of human culture adheres to a mixture of types of marriage, namely monogamy and polygamy, both polygyny and polyandry (one woman marries several men) less frequently.
One of them is the need for the role of a parenting father. Opie's study found that as primates became more social, their brains grew in size to accommodate the growing complexity of mating.
Although a number of cultures accept polygyny, society tends to make monogamy the preferred pattern of marriage. Various theories developed by evolutionary scientists explain why humans choose monogamy. One of them is the need for the role of a parenting father. Opie's study found that as primates became more social, their brains grew in size to accommodate the growing complexity of mating.
The awareness of raising children with a partner has encouraged humans to be socially monogamous. According to Emma Marks, an ecological behavioral researcher from the University of Auckland, New Zealand, social monogamy is a requirement because raising children requires coordination with a partner.
Another idea led humans to monogamy, namely the number of females was limited. Ryan Schacht and Adrian V Bell in Scientific Reports, 7 September, 2016, wrote that such a factor increases the male's commitment to the female.
Mathematical modeling by Chris Bauch and colleagues at the University of Waterloo, Canada, shows monogamy prevented the spread of sexually transmitted diseases when lifestyles changed from hunter-gatherer to farmer. However, Opie believes the change in humans to monogamy occurred at the beginning of the agricultural era in order to maintain wealth.
A number of scientists believe monogamy was formed as a result of social structure. "Monogamy for order and investment does not mean it has to be a natural condition," said the professor of sociology at the University of Washington, Seattle, US, Pepper Schwartz.
Evolutionary biologist from the University of Washington, US, David Barash, quoted in Psychlogy Today, 20 May, 2016, says monogamy is not undesirable, so monogamy is the main norm of marriage in today's world. Monogamy may not be natural, but many humans think monogamy is the best option to help raise children and evolve into conquering big-brained creatures.
(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi)