Monogamy Unnatural in the Natural World

if a woman was dating Man A, broke up with him and started dating Man B with no overlap, I would consider her both faithful and monogamous.

I would say it is one partner over an extended time period. In mammals, I would say that it would extend through multiple reproductive cycles.

My point is simply -- if "unnatural" is used as a synonym for "unusual," there are a lot of unusual/ unnatural things about humans, from our pathetically weak babies to the way we use language. That doesn't necessarily mean much.

Quote:

if a woman was dating Man A, broke up with him and started dating Man B with no overlap, I would consider her both faithful and monogamous.

OK then. So someone who has sex with a different partner each night would be monogamous as long as she clearly ends each relationship by the end of the night?

you wrote:

I would say it is one partner over an extended time period. In mammals, I would say that it would extend through multiple reproductive cycles.

The more interesting case is if a woman has been married to Man A for a long time, and is still married to him when she starts having sex with ("dating" isn't the issue) Man B.

By your definition about, in this case (assuming she waited the requisite "multiple reproductive cycles") the unfaithful woman would be, by your definition, monogamous.

Edit: I want to give the Prince credit for the first idea I raise. I removed the initial reference to avoid any unintended offense.

Monogamy is the state of having only one husband, wife, or sexual partner at any one time. The word monogamy comes from the Greek word monos "μονός", which means one or alone, and the Greek word gamos "γάμος", which means marriage or union. In many cases, the word "monogamy" is used to specifically refer to marital monogamy.

It seems to me that a discussion of these social pressures, particularly their contribution the prevalence of infidelity and divorce in our society, is relevant.