By: Lawal Oluwadamilare

The contrast between settling down and being in a relationship is miles apart. The reason is that: to marry anyone, there may be need for deliberations on backgrounds, values, sexual desires, and the financial decisions both parties might need to make.

It is for this reason that some fraction of society does not consider one person suitable for their marital experience. Men may look around to share their bodies with more than one female counterpart, and women, are faced with the betterment of their social and financial status.

Due to socio-cultural differences, a large percentage of the world practices monogamy, mainly influenced by religious or cultural beliefs. In the west, which happens to be a very influential culture, monogamy is the rule, and polygamy or polyandry might not be largely accepted, as it’s not a norm they are accustomed to.

For clarity, polygamy is a situation where a man is in a relationship with many women simultaneously. While polyandry is a case where a woman has many husbands simultaneously.

The practitioners of polyandry have received several critiques, a majority of which are from the formative years of mankind, which was styled as a patriarchal society. It was viewed as inappropriate that a woman would be seen, heading two men in a home or having a sexual relationship with them. It was believed that this will lead to a low rate of childbirth.

That might have been a terrible idea back in the years, but with the rise in the population rate in the world today, shouldn’t we make a consideration? The rising number of humans on earth daily, is enough indication that our world would continue to suffer from excess pollution, starvation, and other factors militating against overpopulation. 

However, some believe that some practitioners of polyandry might be incapable of meeting the sexual needs of their husbands. And there’s also the exposure to diseases as they may be exposed to unprotected sex from different partners.

Polygamy, a more approved type of relationship, is of large acceptance in the Easterner part of the world. Some positive attributes can be linked to polygamy, but some of the negatives are one of the major causes of societal problems today. In most cases, polygamy leads to a lack of fatherly care, attention, and love. This further leads to children having a dysfunctional upbringing.

The high rate of marital competition among wives in polygamous homes, is one common disadvantage, most especially in Africa. This will result in more family feuds, bitterness, and jealousy.

The two views on polygamy are good options to buy, but with high demerits. With these pieces of baggage, sticking to monogamy would always be the better choice for a sane society.