Quote Originally Posted by allodial View Post
Polygyny was openly normative until the 1500s with the 1200s being the beginnings of its open decline in Europe and north Africa. Polygyny created too-strong, economically-stable families and men who weren't interested in going off to fight for strangers so they imposed "monogamy only" on unsuspecting populaces. With that came broken families, serial serial polygyny, prostitution as a wide-spread business and single moms (wider birth registration--perhaps that is what they wanted) and fierce competition levels among women. The campaign against polygyny in Thailand has resulted in decades of widespread prostitution. To add insult the injury, the Soviets attacked the monogamy-only paradigm too and didn't like the side-effects!

In decades of study and observation, females despite putting on appearances seem far more inclined towards polygyny by nature for the most part. A man who has a wife or girlfriend is deemed approved and safer to approach since she can inquire of his character from the wife or girl he is with. It is not necessarily because the girls enjoy stealing each other's boyfriends or husbands, it very much seems to be in their nature in that one with a girlfriend or wife is preferred because she represents that he is desirable, approved, sniff-tested, etc. so they 'want in'. In Westernized countries femmes are programmed against such and what are the side-effects? On that note, it is likely that if polygyny was openly the norm, many talk shows and daytime dramas probably wouldn't exist.

Possible proof of Islam's influence rising in the Americas around the time of the Civil War might be in the campaign against Mormons and polygyny. With Islamists holding the exception in that "its OK" for them to have up to 4 wives but not so for Christians or Jews. Seems to be the policy in the USA to this very day along with serial polygyny, serial polyandry and other assortments.

Related: polygyny, polygamy.
Don't forget hypergamy.

Females are naturally hypergamous and polygamous as well.