Monogamy is definitely enculturated. There are all sorts of personal and ethical reasons for it--all of which are inculcated through cultural means. Monogamy is "right". It's "good". It's "how it was meant to be".
Except that if you look at lots of other cultures, polygamy and/or polyandry are very much the norm. I grew up in Salt Lake City, I can say a few things about this. The early Mormons didn't experience polygamy as transgressive in the slightest. It was an expression of their religious beliefs--a man was saving those women's
souls by marrying them! It was the
right thing to do!
In my own life, I once believed strongly in monogamy, and now I no longer do. I'm in an incredible, amazing, passionate relationship with my wife, and we are in a wonderful, fulfilling, enriching friendship-and-sexual-relationship with another couple. While I definitely don't recommend it for everybody, it's working pretty damn well for us.
I can say this, though: deeply ingrained cultural beliefs can be difficult and painful to peel away. The layers of jealousy and struggle that the four of us have broken through individually and collectively are amazing. Usually it's one of the girls... though the most recent one was me.
