About this book:

"Nonmonogamy Through the Ages" offers a comprehensive cultural history of plural romantic arrangements, including polygamy, polyamory, and other alternative unions, demonstrating their widespread prevalence and varied forms across different civilizations and eras. The book challenges the notion of monogamy as a universal or naturally superior human mating system, tracing its emergence as a dominant ideal in Western thought, particularly with the rise of industrial capitalism and the Christian church. It highlights how nonmonogamous practices were often pragmatic responses to economic, social, political, and spiritual needs, rather than mere expressions of individual desire.

The book delves into specific historical and cultural contexts, examining how ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian societies codified plural marriages for lineage and property, how classical Greece and Rome managed concubinage to maintain citizen purity and male freedom, and how South Asian and East Asian imperial harems were central to dynastic power and social status. It explores the diverse forms of polygyny and polyandry across African societies, often driven by labor, land management, and kinship alliances, and uncovers the varied multi-partner bonds in Indigenous Americas before European contact. A significant portion is dedicated to the Abrahamic religions, illustrating the divergences in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam regarding plural intimacy, from the Old Testament’s polygamous patriarchs to the Christian insistence on monogamy and Islam’s regulated polygyny.

Later chapters address the profound impact of colonial governance in policing and suppressing nonmonogamous practices globally, imposing a Western monogamous ideal and creating legal disparities. It then transitions to modern developments, from 19th-century Mormon plural marriage and its conflict with the American state to the countercultural "free love" and "open marriage" movements of the 1960s-1980s. The final sections focus on the contemporary polyamory movement, detailing its emergence, the development of its unique language and ethical frameworks (like enthusiastic consent and compersion), the challenges and opportunities presented by digital media and dating apps, and the specific considerations of queer and trans polyamorous communities.

The book concludes by examining the current legal landscape for nonmonogamy, highlighting the ongoing criminalization, the lack of legal recognition for multi-partner families, and emerging municipal experiments in domestic partnerships. It emphasizes the critical need for future policy pathways rooted in consent, equity, and a broader definition of family that reflects the diverse ways humans organize love, care, and kinship in a globalized and rapidly changing world. Ultimately, "Nonmonogamy Through the Ages" argues that understanding this rich history is essential for fostering empathy and analytical rigor in contemporary discussions about intimate relationships.

What You'll Find Inside:

• Explores how human communities have historically organized romantic, sexual, and caregiving bonds involving more than two adults across diverse cultures and time periods, challenging the myth of a universally monogamous past.
• Examines the interplay of power dynamics—gender, class, caste, race, and religion—in shaping both the practice and perception of plural unions, from royal harems to contemporary polycules.
• Traces the evolution of key concepts and terminology, distinguishing polygamy, polyandry, concubinage, open unions, and modern polyamory while highlighting their distinct ethical and legal histories.
• Investigates the practical governance of multi-partner households, including agreements, boundary management, conflict resolution, and the distribution of labor, care, and resources.
• Analyzes contemporary challenges and innovations, such as digital dating platforms, legal recognition efforts, municipal experiments, and ongoing debates about consent, equity, and policy reform.

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for students and scholars in sociology, anthropology, gender studies, law, and history seeking a rigorous, interdisciplinary foundation in the cultural and historical study of nonmonogamy. It also serves relationship therapists, counselors, and educators working with diverse relationship structures, as well as policymakers and advocates engaged in debates about family law, marriage equality, and alternative kinship models. General readers interested in moving beyond stereotypes to understand the authentic diversity of human intimacy across time and cultures will find it both enlightening and accessible.