Describe the different forms of marriage patterns found across cultures

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Marriage is a legally recognized and/or socially approved arrangement between two or more individuals that carries certain rights and obligations and usually involves sexual activity. In most societies, marriage involves a mutual commitment by each partner, and linkages between two individuals and families are publicly demonstrated. In the United States, the only legally sanctioned form of marriage is monogamy —a marriage between two partners, usually a woman and a man. For some people, marriage is a lifelong commitment that ends only with the death of a partner. For others, marriage is a commitment of indefinite duration. Through a practice of marriage, divorce, and remarriage, some people practice serial monogamy—a succession of marriages in which a person has several spouses over a lifetime but is legally married to only one person at a time. Polygamy is the concurrent marriage of a person of one sex with two or more members of the opposite sex. The most prevalent form of polygamy is polygyny— the concurrent marriage of one man with two or more women. The second type of polygamy is polyandry —the concurrent marriage of one woman with two or more men.

Polyandry is very rare; when it does occur, it is typically found in societies where men greatly outnumber women because of high rates of female infanticide.