Have you ever pondered the thought of having more than one spouse? Or being married to a few women or a few men at the same time? Do your children have few mothers or few fathers? This is called polygamy and seems to remain one of the last taboos. Polygamy should be legalized because it satisfies our natural sexuality, benefits natural selection and brings regulation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Polygamy is where a person has more than one spouse at the same time. There are 3 types of polygamy. The first and most common form is polygyny, where a man is married to more than one woman at the same time. Polyandry is the opposite, where a woman has more than one husband. Then there is group marriage where more men are married to more women. It became illegal in 1862 when Congress passed the Morril Act, which prohibited plural marriages (polygamy). Despite this act, 30,000 to 100,000 people in the United States still practice this lifestyle (Duncan, 1). Many people say that polygamy is an obsolete practice and has no place in modern civilization. The Republican Party has gone so far as to label this practice the “twin relics of barbarism” (Polygamy). When people talk about polygamy, they automatically think of women's rights, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or girls forced into marriage. All this is due to a bad connotation and the absence of regulation. Many Americans and others around the world practice safe, healthy, and loving polygamous relationships. Most consider monogamy to be our natural tendency and polygamy to be an expression of lust and immoral behavior. However, the truth appears to be exactly the opposite. Monogamy is as new as agriculture, originating 10,000 years ago, and modern humans have been around for about 200,000 years. Our ancestors in prehistoric times practiced group marriage. Everyone in the tribe was married to everyone and no one was sexually confined to one person (Ryan and Cacilda). That doesn't mean they slept with anyone and everyone, but everyone in the tribe was in a relationship with each other. Everyone also helped raise the children, so each child had more than enough love and nurturing. Polygamy is actually how we started…naturally. Not only was it practiced in prehistoric times, but it is also practiced today throughout the world. The Musuo have practiced matrilineal polyandry since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD). According to survey data, polyandrous marriage is associated with higher fertility than patriarchy (Zhang). Polygamy also benefits natural selection by creating competition among sperm. A monogamous relationship in which a woman has sex only with one man completely eliminates sperm competition. If a woman has sex with multiple partners in a short period of time, only the best sperm will win (Ryan and Cacilda). Research from 2007 studied sperm samples from humans, gorillas, chimpanzees and rhesus macaques. Human sperm travels at 0.2 km/hour, chimpanzees and macaques had a speed of 0.7 km/hour, and gorilla speed was only 0.1 km/hour (Anitei). This indicates that humans are slightly polygynous. In another study, phalluses made from casts of human penises removed sperm-like substances from an artificial vagina (Anitei). This means that the penis has developed its shape to eventually eliminate its “competition”. Many women also report that men thrust more deeply and quickly after signs of infidelity, an act that researchers believe is directed at removing sperm (Anitei). (Reading the book.