Chapter Review on Marriage Types

Overview of Marriage and Kinship

  • Marriage types and kinship crucial for understanding smaller scale societies.

  • Marriage acts as a 'glue' for social cohesion within these societies.

Monogamy

Definition

  • Monogamy: A form of marriage where one individual marries one partner.

    • Derived from Greek roots: "mono" (one) + "gamos" (marriage).

Common Understanding

  • Monogamy is commonly known and recognized in society, but its practice can vary.

  • Encompasses all genders: male-male, female-female, male-female pairings.

Prevalence

  • Most prevalent form of marriage across societies.

  • Even in cultures allowing for polygamy, monogamy remains the dominant marital form.

Cultural Reflection

  • Anecdote from a professor suggesting that monogamy might persist because dealing with one partner is challenging enough.

  • Exploration of human evolution and historical contexts to understand monogamy's popularity.

Evolutionary Past

  • Humans possess diverse mating practices (monogamy, polygyny, polyandry) which is unique among species.

  • Evolutionary theory suggests monogamy arose from the need for cooperative parental investment in offspring due to the obstetric dilemma.

Obstetric Dilemma Explained

  • Explanation of the conflict between increased brain size in humans and the limitations of the female pelvis supporting bipedalism.

    • Altricial Birth: Immature birth leading to children requiring extended parental care.

  • Dependency of human infants necessitates both parents for support because of high energy and nutritional demands during growth.

Conclusion of Monogamy Section

  • Recognition of the cultural shift towards monogamy as more couples have tended to bond for longer periods.

  • Two subdivisions explored:

    • Lifetime Monogamy: Rare, few cultures exclusively uphold this.

    • Serial Monogamy: Common in societies where individuals have multiple consecutive monogamous relationships throughout life.

Serial Monogamy

Definition and Characteristics

  • Serial Monogamy: Individuals engaging in successive monogamous relationships.

    • Reference to the phrase "seven-year itch" as a common pattern in relationships before they often dissolve, aligning with average duration before breaking up after raising children.

Suggestions for Stable Relationships

  • Delaying marriage until both partners are at least 26 years old may lead to lower divorce rates due to increased maturity and economic stability.

Polygamy

Overview

  • Polygamy: Marriage form where one individual has multiple spouses.

    • Subdivided into:

    • Polygyny: One male with multiple females.

      • Most common marital form worldwide; 85% of all studied societies allow for it.

    • Polyandry: One female with multiple males; relatively rare compared to polygyny.

Cultural Dynamics

  • Discussion on the higher socio-economic classes allowing polygyny due to the resources necessary to maintain multiple households.

  • Sororal polygyny allows a man to marry sisters to reduce rivalry among wives.

Male-Directed Marriages

Statistics on Polygamy

  • Polygyny prevalent among males with larger body sizes compared to females in species where multiple breeding opportunities exist, i.e., gorillas and elephant seals.

Polyandry Dynamics

  • Historically underestimated, now noted in various societies including Tibetan cultures.

  • Discusses fraternal polyandry where brothers share a wife, promoting cooperation among male holders of familial wealth.

Group Marriage

Definition

  • Group Marriage: A marital system where multiple males and females are married to each other.

    • Few stable examples noted, primarily in specific cultural contexts (e.g., some Inuit communities).

Issues of Group Marriage

  • Lack of success largely attributed to failure in meeting fundamental socio-cultural marital needs, resulting in short-lived arrangements.

Fixed-Term Marriages

  • Marriages with a specific societal, political, or economic objective which dissolve once the objective is met.

  • Example in certain immigrant communities using marriage for legal immigration status.

Same-Sex Marriages

Definition and Examples

  • Same-sex unions exist across cultures with varying configurations and roles, e.g., the Nandi women in Kenya assuming male roles when necessary.

Fictive Marriages

Definition and Types

  • Fictive Marriage: Marital arrangement substituting absent individuals with surrogates or proxies.

    • Levirate: A male relative marries a widow to preserve family ties.

    • Sororate: A sister marries in place of a deceased sister.

    • Ghost Marriage: A ceremonial marriage to please the spirit of a deceased male to maintain familial status.

Conclusion

  • Discussion of the varied forms of marriage and their functional implications in societal structures.

  • Transitioning to need for understanding Chapter 10 topics.