Sex and Marriage
Sexual Relations
Among primates, the human female is
unusual in her ability to engage in
sexual activity whether she is fertile or
not.
 Every society has rules that govern
sexual access.

Marriage Partner Selection
Padaung woman
(Thailand)
Marriage Partner Selection
Common North American and
European Cultural ideal of beauty
Marriage Partner Selection
19th century European preference for
heavier female bodies
(sketch by Auguste Renoir)
Marriage Partner Selection
Comparison of traditional Chinese
and European concepts of beauty
Personality, education, wealth, and other
individual characteristics also are important
mate selection criteria in many societies.
- Caste
- Dowry
Arranged marriages
Padaung woman
(Thailand)
Restrictions to Sexual
Access

incest taboos
Marriage in all societies involves
acceptance of an agreement, either written
or verbal. Most often, this includes four
categories of privileges, rights, and
obligations of the marrying couple:
1. agreeing to exclusive sexual access
2. having and caring for children
3. accepting a sexual division of labor
4. agreeing to extend kinship bonds to
your spouse's relatives
Marriage Rules
Endogamy is marriage within a group of
individuals.
 Exogamy is marriage outside the group.

Forms of Marriage
Monogamy
 Polygyny
 Polyandry
 Group marriage

monogamy
serial monogamy
polygamy
- polygyny – a man has two or more wives at the same time
- sororal polygyny - cowives are sisters
polyandry- a woman has two or more husbands at the
same time
-fraternal polyandry – a woman is married to two or more
brothers
Polygynous family in Nigeria
Marriage
Marriage is backed by social, legal, and
economic forces.
 Monogamy is the most common form of
marriage, primarily for economic
reasons.
 In most of the world, marriage is not
based on romantic love, but on
economic considerations.

Serial Monogamy
A form of marriage in which a man or
woman marries a series of partners.
 Increasingly common among middleclass North Americans as individuals
divorce and remarry.

Second Marriage Preferences
Many societies have specific kinds of second
marriage rules that anthropologists refer to as
the levirate and the sororate.
The levirate specifies that a widow should
marry the brother of her deceased husband
A mirror image of the levirate is the
sororate. It is a rule that a widower should
marry the sister of his deceased wife.
Marriage Exchanges
Bride-price - payment of money from
the groom’s to the bride’s kin.
 Bride service - the groom is expected
to work for a period for the bride’s
family.
 Dowry - payment of a woman’s
inheritance at the time of marriage to
her or her husband.

Divorce
Factors contributing to divorce:
 Many marriages are based on ideals of
romantic love or the idealization of
youth.
 Establishing an intimate bond in a
society in which people are taught to
seek individual gratification is difficult.
Readings for the next 2 weeks:
Haviland:
Chapter 9
Family and household
Chapter 10
Kinship and descent