Diana Fleischman

Most People Still Choose Exclusive Pair Bonds Under Looser Sexual Norms

The discussion turns on whether some women would prefer to share a wealthy or high-status partner rather than have an exclusive relationship with a less desirable one. An unnamed speaker argues that monogamy protects the value of exclusivity while distributing partnership more broadly among men; Williamson questions whether that arrangement primarily serves men. The speaker’s narrower empirical case is that, even under looser sexual norms, most people still form largely exclusive pair bonds, usually serially rather than for life.