I have actually written a paper on this subjectOriginally posted by dragon wench:
<STRONG>Sometimes I wonder if the reason we (as in the rhetorical "we") have such a difficult time with relationships is because natural urges are at odds with social expectations. Put another way, is monogamy a social construct? </STRONG>
There are many data, biological as well as social, that supports human monogamy, and equally many data that support polygamy. This is generally a very touchy subject, but interesting since it concerns a fundament of modern western society....whilst gazing up at the hospital ceiling, swathed head to foot in bandages, in traction. Constant agony. Lots of medication that only seems to make you feel worse. The doctor comes in with his chart. Looks at you, shakes his head. The prognosis of recovery is not good...Originally posted by KramoR:
<STRONG>My definition of love, being hit by a car. Then wondering, "how did that happen?"</STRONG>
Originally posted by loner72:
<STRONG>...whilst gazing up at the hospital ceiling, swathed head to foot in bandages, in traction. Constant agony. Lots of medication that only seems to make you feel worse. The doctor comes in with his chart. Looks at you, shakes his head. The prognosis of recovery is not good...</STRONG>
In the literature I read when I wrote this essay a few years ago, the model you describle was one possibility. Also based on the fact than humans originally lived in groups, not in core families. Another possiblity was "serial monogamy". There were actually no data supporting the idea of lifelong monogamy. But it's always difficult to draw any conclusions of studies like this.Originally posted by Waverly:
<STRONG>@CE interesting. I've read a few articles, and as I recall, the consensus was 'limited monogamy'. ie A permanent mate with fooling around as the rule. Facts supporing this were behaviour of our closest living relatives, the ability of sperm to hinder the activity of a previous deposit, and data on testicle size and output...</STRONG>
Or in my case, the boyfriend leaving with the supermodel brain surgeon from the next ward...Originally posted by KramoR:
<STRONG>
And your girlfriend leaving with the Doctor.</STRONG>
Wielding sharp objects again are we?. Because I'm the one who could be the brain surgeon, damnit
We are beginning to sound like a modern relationship dramaOriginally posted by Gwalchmai:
<STRONG>You see the thing is, I knew you were joking, and I knew you knew I was joking, and I knew that you knew that I knew you were joking, but I thought I might be wrong, maybe a little, so I tried to explain myself, while still joking, but I did it poorly <snip></STRONG>
</STRONG><STRONG>I'm on the once-every-six-months schedule!
But you have been married much longer than I, and you have 2 small children, we have none. Most couples experience a slump when their children are young. If both want to, it's not very difficult to prioritise the couple relationship again when the kids get a bit older and more self sufficient. </STRONG><STRONG>NO, and we're not going to talk about it.
</STRONG><STRONG>That does it, I'm moving to Sweden. Do you have a sister?
Hey, didn't you say you looked better than George Clooney?<STRONG>If it helps, I imagine you to be very attractive. Actually I imagine ALL the women on this forum to be extremely good looking. For some odd reason, I also imagine the men to be rather handsome as well. This worries me about myself....
Certainly a British individual is not necessarily less liberal than a Swedish individual, but at a group and society level, I think Swedish culture in general is more liberal about sexual issues than British culture. This, I only base at my personal experinces of having lived in Britain for about 1 year, having had British boyfriend and having a lot of British friends. Maybe I'm wrong, could be a biased sample.Originally posted by Georgi:
<STRONG>I didn't think British culture was that prohibitive...
