{"id":62,"date":"2016-02-09T20:50:18","date_gmt":"2016-02-09T20:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/?p=62"},"modified":"2018-09-02T22:06:28","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T22:06:28","slug":"monogamy-vs-polyandry-how-sexual-practices-affect-the-power-balance-between-genders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/2016\/02\/09\/monogamy-vs-polyandry-how-sexual-practices-affect-the-power-balance-between-genders\/","title":{"rendered":"Monogamy vs Polyandry: How Sexual Practices Affect the Power Balance between Genders"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I read in the Longman Anthology<\/em> introduction, the line \u201cThe medical establishment backed the conventional view that women were physically and intellectually inferior, a \u2018weaker sex\u2019 that would buckle under the weight of strong passion, serious thought, or vigorous exercise\u201d (1061) was incredibly interesting. It occurred to me that one of the few mentions of female Beast People in The Island of Doctor Moreau<\/em> was the fact that the \u201cpioneers\u201d of the ignoring \u201cdecency\u201d \u2013 that is, ignoring the need for clothes \u2013 were \u201call females\u201d (96-97). So the females are clearly portrayed as the weaker sex, quicker to succumb to the pressure of animalistic desires and all the \u201cindecency\u201d that entails.<\/p>\n

But what if Wells was using one of his brief mentions of females to make some social commentary? The Longman Anthology<\/em> also mentions that marriage was a complete loss of identity for a woman: \u201cA woman lost the few civil rights she had as she became \u2018one body\u2019 with her husband\u201d (1062). Monogamy allows males to have more control over the females, to \u2013 in a way \u2013 absorb them and become one unit in the eyes of the law. This idea, of two humans coming together to create one being, can be traced back to Plato\u2019s Symposium<\/em> \u2013 although his ideas had more to do with love than unions for profit or improved social standing.<\/p>\n

Monogamy is a way to increase control over the female\u2019s children, (supposedly) assuring the male that the female\u2019s children are his (should the female stay faithful) and ensuring that his genetics will continue on. However, monogamy is not the only way of life \u2013 polygamy is Mormon practice, and sexual unions of animals are all over the map from polygamy to polyandry (polyandry being the practice of one female mating with multiple males so that all of the males help raise the child\/children in the hopes that they are protecting their genes from extinction). In this dynamic specifically, females hold all the power \u2013 whereas in monogamous relationships, they hold almost none.<\/p>\n

The female Beast-People in The Island of Doctor Moreau <\/em>attempt to form monogamous bonds as per the Law \u2013 although Wells makes sure to point out that since the female Beast-People were \u201cless numerous\u2026 [they were] liable to much furtive persecution\u201d (62). While some animals are monogamous, most are not \u2013 and trying to force monogamy on them only decreases the power of the females even further, as they are taught that monogamy is the Law and yet, they are still\u00a0accosted by multiple males who are stronger than they are, bringing them a fear of punishment from breaking the Law.<\/p>\n

However, the female Beast-People are the first to ignore the need for decency as the Law starts to decay (96-97). By ignoring clothing, the female Beast-People are better able to advertise their availability for sexual union \u2013 many female animals have a sort of display to indicate that they are ovulating. Biological Anthropology: The Natural History of Humankind<\/em> (3rd<\/sup> edition) explains that \u201caround the time of ovulation, the rump of a female primate may change color, produce a fluid-filled swelling, or emit odors, any of which will signal males in the vicinity that she is ready to mate\u201d (204). Advertising her availability allows the female to attract males, giving her the choice of who she would like to mate with, rather than the male having all the power in the decision of who to mate with – that is, marry – as often happens in human society.<\/p>\n

Wells shows, with his few mentions of female Beast-People in The Island of Doctor Moreau<\/em>, that monogamy allows human males to strip females of their independence \u2013 but that some of this independence can be regained in a more free sexual society, one that was beginning to bloom in the time after Queen Victoria\u2019s death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I read in the Longman Anthology introduction, the line \u201cThe medical establishment backed the conventional view that women were physically and intellectually inferior, a \u2018weaker sex\u2019 that would buckle under the weight of strong passion, serious thought, or vigorous exercise\u201d (1061) was incredibly interesting. It occurred to me that one of the few mentions … Continue reading Monogamy vs Polyandry: How Sexual Practices Affect the Power Balance between Genders<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123782,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2016-blog-post","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}