Are you fed up with nurturing your one relationship? Or are you the type who could imagine having several girlfriends at the same time? If so, you are not alone. Because a new survey from Great Britain shows that as many as one in three men think the idea of having more than one wife or girlfriend would be perfectly fine. In any case, if polygamy had been legal. In contrast, only 11 percent of women answer the same. But would such a study have similar results in Norway? – Yes, says the Norwegian researcher. Not as willing to share Almost 400 heterosexual participants took part in the survey. It has been carried out by researchers at Swansea University in Wales. They were asked about both polygyny, where men marry multiple women, and polyandry – where women are married to multiple men. They were also asked if it was okay to share their partner with others. Although a third of the men could imagine multiple wives or relationships, not nearly as many were interested in sharing a partner with other men. Here, only 9 percent answered that it would have been fine. 5 percent of women answer the same. How many partners do you prefer? A lot of holders! Well, maybe two would have been exciting … The more, the better! Show result Dr. Andrew Thomas is the lead author of the study. He believes this is a topic that is currently in the air. – I would say it is something that is trending. This can be seen, among other things, in the number of research articles on the topic. Especially in sexology and evolutionary psychology. In addition, there is more coverage of this in the media now than before. I also feel that this is something people talk about more, even though polygamy itself has existed for most of human history, he says to news. A little mystery Thomas devotes much of his research to looking at the differences in preferences in different relationships. What characterizes people who are looking for something short-term? And what do you want from a partner in a relationship that will last? However, polygyny is a bit of a mystery in that respect, the researcher believes. And he wants to find out whether this form fits best under the short-term or the long-term relationship model. – On the one hand, it looks like it is a long-term strategy, since there is a commitment involved, but on the other hand, it also contains features that you see in a short-term relationship. It helps to give men an increased opportunity for sexual variety. In Norway, it is not allowed to be married to more than one partner. But there is no law that says you can’t date several people at once. Photo: Jørgen Leangen / news Does it come as a surprise? Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair is a professor at NTNU in Trondheim. He has given Andrew Thomas feedback on the new study. Kennair is not surprised by the results. – Men are more interested in sexual variety than women are. And although both sexes want more than one partner during their lifetime, men want far more than women do on average. Men are more interested in one-night stands than women, and it is this short-term orientation that emerges as an explanation in this research. Kennair uses evolution to explain. Women should rather invest in finding a partner with good genetic qualities, explains the professor. They need to find a man who will commit. – She has no reproductive gain from multiple sex partners. Unlike women, men have a greater reproductive potential in having more sexual partners. Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair is a professor at NTNU in Trondheim. He says the findings in the study match traits found in many cultures. Photo: Jøte Toftaker/news Also applies to you and me The new survey was carried out among Britons, so how would the results of a similar study have been in Norway? Kennair believes they would be quite similar. – The findings are consistent with features we find in many cultures, and the male sexual psychology is not particularly different in Wales and in Norway. The Norwegian researcher is supported by Andrew Thomas. – I would certainly say that these findings also apply to Norwegians. Negative effects According to Norwegian law, you can only be married to one person at a time. It is a criminal offense to marry more than one person. But this is not the case everywhere in the world. In some countries, polygamy is allowed. And this is often rooted in cultural, religious or historical traditions. For example, some societies in Africa and the Middle East have long-standing traditions of polygyny. In certain societies in Tibet and Nepal, brothers are allowed to marry the same lady. But why can’t we choose for ourselves in a modern country like Norway? Professor at the University of Oslo, Tone Linn Wærstad has researched the topic and explains: – There are no countries that allow women to enter into two marriages at the same time, so in reality polygamy will only be available to men when it comes to recognition of foreign marriages. Furthermore, she explains that research also shows negative effects for children who grow up in families with a father who has several wives. – I can also add that bigamy has never been permitted in Norwegian law, so the monogamous principle stands strong in Norwegian legal tradition, says Wærstad. Not exactly an overwhelming majority But even if some in this study answer that they are open to several partners, monogamy is still what the vast majority prefer. Also in this survey. – It is wrong to say that men or women on average or in general want more partners. But men are less negative about this than women, and both sexes are negative about infidelity rather than agreeing to a multi-partner relationship, says Kennair. The new study is published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
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One in three men could imagine more than one partner, shows a survey from Great Britain – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
