Is it natural for a man to seek as many sexual partners as possible?

[RATTER15]

Im not asking this to upset the women, though I'm sure it will.

Throughout the animal kingdom (generally speaking) it is quite natural for the male of the species to expand his gene pool as far and as wide as possible by mating with as many females as possible.

Civilisation has tried to stop this in humans, is it possible that this interference with natures natural course is why so many men stray?

[ummmm]

Not really. I know many men who do and many men that don't.

Civilisation has also made it easier for women to have many sexual partners without the fear of pregnancy,

[Pinkypie]

It's possible, but without upseting women further (as I am one myself) I think women can look at greener grass too!

I'm not sure if it's natural for us to do so though as even cavemen had a family structure of sorts! But some animals mate for life...... swans, ravens there are more but I can't remember!

Hmmmmm?

[4getmenot]

Maybe but then why do women stray too?

[RATTER15]

4get, "Maybe but then why do women stray too?" they are just plain bad!!

[woofgang]

I don't mind discussing it and to an extent is is natural, but so is picking your nose and eating it, publicly scratching your bits , and rape/murder of weaker individuals of both genders....uninhibited following of natural impulses is not always desirable.

[maggieb66]

can't think of anything worse, one hubby's bad enough. Tee hee

[ummmm]

No RATTER....they have freedom now.

[jno]

Canada geese are monogamous. Are they unnatural? Are they civilised? Or is monogamy in fact perfectly natural for some species?

[joggerjayne]

"Natural" ... yes.

It's the instinct to perpetuate the species.

But it is, of course, a "primitive" instinct. We still have many primitive instincts.

Some of our primitive instincts are still useful ... the "fight or flight" instinct whereby a rush of adrenalin increases our reaction times in dangerous situations.

Some are not useful ... the instinct to consume carbohydrates, even though they taste bland, because our bodies are telling us to store fuel for when our hunting trips are unsuccessful (that's why we love chips, by the way).

Some of them are largely irrelevant ... our heart rate slows down if we put our faces in cold water (yes, really!)

I'd say the "perpetuate the species" instinct falls into the category of "irrelevant" in a society where the species is hardly likely to die out.

Nevertheless ... the instinct does still exist.

[4getmenot]

lol ratter, not all bad

[ummmm]

It's died out of many males Jayne.

[B00]

Yeah it probably is natural instinct, same as it is for a woman to pick the fittest and strongest to father our offspring.

Whether it's morally right though is another matter ;-)

[joggerjayne]

That right, B00.

But "morals" are a progressively developing set of perceived values which result from our inter-reactions with each other.

Instinct is passed on through our genes.

There is inevitably an increasing conflict between morals and instincts.

[joggerjayne]

It is nice to "mate" with tall guys with big shoulders and muscular butts !

=0)

That's just from an "instinct" perspective, of course. ** ahem! **

[rowanwitch]

It is only a cultural thing....in a matriarchal society it is likely the females would be more likely to have multiple partners Where a survival benefit is gained from a monogamous relationship this tends to be supported within social structures like religion and legislation... The interesting thing is the over-riding of primitive instincts that allows women and men to 'waste time' having sex with infertile partners.... either by nature or surgical intervention... the only species benefit is the stabilisation of pair bond structures especially if those involved are parents as when grandparents they may be of more value supporting the next generation... 21st century family bereakdowns have devalued this as more members live independently
However there seems little to be gained by either sex having excessive multiple partners due to the risk of disease and the apparent reduction of the ability to form a lasting monogamous bond later...

[ummmm]

They should have a 'like' button...

[joggerjayne]

Golly, rowan ... it's hard to argue with that !!

=0)

[rowanwitch]

JJ I am sure someone will try.....I like a bit of social anthropology in the morning...

[joggerjayne]

"I like a bit of social anthropology in the morning"

So it's a bit like oral sex ... or toast ... LOL

[rowanwitch]

Summed up by 'why did I do that...what was the social benefit in getting totally off my face and snogging half the patrons in the club...' in the morning...