The Truth About Monogamy in Humans

     There are plus or minus 10 animals that are inherently monogamous-- humans are not of them. We grow up being told that one of the main goals of life is to find a "soul mate" or "the one" and spend our life with that person making babies and sharing in an exclusive partnership together. But why? It used to make a lot of sense for survival purposes, but in today's society, how much sense does it really make? Think about it.
     In ancient times, monogamy was created among humans to ensure survival. A pregnant woman was not able to hunt very efficiently, and when her baby arrived, she had to stay behind to care for and breastfeed the child-- the man was not able to do this (no breast milk). The man wanted his bloodline to continue, so he would hunt for and protect the woman he impregnated and their baby. It started off like a basic trade off-- you enter into an agreement with a healthy, dependable person so you could procreate, grow your gene pool, and have protection for you and your family. The man and the woman needed each other for these reasons and it just made sense to stay with the same person to avoid complications. The idea of romantic love being apart of marriage did not come into play until much later.
     Today, women and men are both capable of raising children on their own. We have resources available to us that make this possible. So we do not NEED marriage like we have needed it in the past. Marriage does offer security and stability, which is not to be overlooked, and of course there are many successful marriages filled with love and work wonderfully. But it is not for everyone, and that's okay. We are humans and we are not naturally monogamous-- we enjoy experiencing different partners throughout our lifetime. Think about people who cheat in relationships-- I am NOT condoning cheating, and I do believe that anyone who has made a commitment to another person should honor that commitment. However, why do so many people have tendencies to cheat? As a society, we mentally mark them with a scarlet "A" and call them selfish. Which they very well may be. But if monogamy was so innate to humans, would we be slipping up this much? Would we continue to have these high divorce rates or be unphased to news of people cheating on one another?
     This idea also can be relative to slut shaming. Single people who sleep around or have promiscuous tendencies are largely looked down on by society. But why? Humans have polygamous tendencies, as do a majority of animals, and that also means we have the urge to have sex. If you're not in a relationship, you still have those urges and there is nothing wrong with fulfilling those urges. It is healthy to explore your sexuality as long as you are being safe and not harming anyone.
     I realize that much of what I have discussed can be argued with religious beliefs. I respect all religions, however, I am coming from a place of biology and my own subjective thoughts, so take it with a grain of salt. Just something to think about.