# How do polygamists expect the gender ratio to work out, mathematically?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-polygamists-expect-the-gender-ratio-to-work-out-mathematically/729530>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 31, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-polygamists-expect-the-gender-ratio-to-work-out-mathematically/729530 "2015-08-31T19:49:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\
**Post date:** [September 2, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-polygamists-expect-the-gender-ratio-to-work-out-mathematically/729530/41 "2015-09-02T23:45:16Z")

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> [@Malthus](#):
>
> In the case of this article, it was based on ongoing interaction with a group of present-day hunter-gatherer people by various anthropologists and others over some sixty or seventy years or so (can’t remember which one). During that time, a number of murders occurred for various reasons.
> 
> While there weren’t many, the authors of the article tallied them up and tallied up the total population, and came to the startling and counter-intuitive conclusion (at least, counter-intuitive to anthropologists) that, on a purely per capita per year basis, murders were actually very common, moreso that in other types of society with a more violent reputation, and so a serious problem in hunter-gatherer society.]

The basic flaw being that in modern time, hunter-gatherer groups have been pushed to the absolute most marginl land, which sharpens competition. In more abundant areas and less populated areas, it it likely different.

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**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2015, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-polygamists-expect-the-gender-ratio-to-work-out-mathematically/729530/42 "2015-09-03T09:39:08Z")

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> [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](#):
>
> In this alternate reality you live in, do these serially monogamous men murder their partners each time they move on to the next younger woman? Or is it more like the world I live in, where each time a serially monogamous couple breaks up, both partners re-enter the dating pool, thus not causing a problem at all.

I don’t know. Do people in your world all display the same kind of stupidity and lack of reading ability?

There is a group of men of around 20% of all men and typically those on the lowest social rungs of society, which to their distress remain childless and without family because they do not manage to attract a woman at any time during their life, or at least not for long enough to convince her to start a family.

There is not a corresponding group of women of anywhere near the same size, because the women tend to share the same smaller number men. Not simultaneously, but over the span of their life. At any time, there is an equal amount of single men and women, but for men the single group tend to remain the same, whereas for women it does not. The result of this “timeline polygamy” is almost the same as for traditional polygamy when it comes to things like excluded men who do not get to have a family. Sucks, but such is life.

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