Dustin M. Wax

writer, educator, anthropologist, and freelance thinker

monogamy

When Monogamy Isn't Monogamous

By: ThinkNaughty Tags:

 

Originally posted at Savage Minds on November 16, 2005.

Every time I teach the section on marriage in my Intro to Anthro class, I inevitably face the same question. The book lists four types of marriage: monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, and group marriage. and someone always asks "What about swingers?" (Of course, I live and teach in Vegas...) The question points to a limitation of the concept of marriage not just for anthropological understanding but even within our own everyday usage.

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