Some Myths About Human Sexuality

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Many traditional societies accept polygyny (one man, many wives). Monogamy, too, is practised across the globe. But what about polyandry — one woman, many husbands? Is this a "dubious idea" as sometimes suggested by evolutionary theorists?

In this bonus clip, anthropologist Katie Starkweather offers interesting examples of formal and informal polyandry from around the world. She also brings nuance to theories about jealousy in men and women.

(This is a previously unpublished segment from my conversation with anthropologist Katie Starkweather, originally published as an episode on women hunters.)

⁠Articles:

• Informal polyandry around the world (Starkweather & Hames 2012)

• Sex differences in jealousy? Yes, but we need a more nuanced picture (Scelza et al. 2019).

• How Himba men think about fidelity (Scelza et al. 2020)

Scholars mentioned

• Donald Symons (author of Evolution of Human Sexuality)

• Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (author of Father Time, see episode 40)

• Brooke Scelza

• Sean Prall

Keywords

Monogamy | Polygamy | Polyandry | Mating | Pairbonding | Anthropology | Ethnography | Jealousy