I believe monogamy is natural, but only to a limited extent. Has anyone here heard of polyandry? The flipside of polygamy, which was practiced in several cultures, including Tibet. One woman would marry all the sons of another family. Typically one man would be the home "stud", predominantly, while the other brothers would mainly tend to the herds, which could range over some serious distances, or would travel on trade expeditions and the like. In certain circumstances, I think that either polygamy or polyandry could make sense, and I think it is fine in principle. In practice, however, such as in some of these fundamentalist Mormon sects, polygamy tends to go hand-in-hand with rape, incest, and other forms of violence and oppression towards women. Polygamy is NOT the same thing as permissive promiscuity, it is the enforced bonding of several women to one man, and that element of societal force, in the places where it is practiced, makes it a form of oppression of women, in most cases. Promiscuity, as long as one is responsible about preventing spread of disease and pregnancy, and taking responsibility for "accidents" when they do occur, is okay, as long as all parties know what they are getting into. Dishonesty, manipulation, and self-centered irresponsibility are the problems, regardless of one's parameters for sexual activity. Committed monogamous relationships are far from perfect, but it tends to be a simpler system, especially when kids happen...
