Interesting. I've thought along those same lines with regard to the basic idea of what a family is. Humans think that monogamous marriages are the only right and proper way because there is only one species of intelligent live on our world making all the rule and that system agrees with our biology. It's just our inherited nature that make things work out that way.
But what if there were other intelligent species with different inherited needs? A lion would have a pride. His wives might complain if his pride felt too small. Some kinds of harems would be run by the girls. Other would be run by the male. Either way whoever was running the business of the family would be expected to do it well an he (or they) would get an earful when things weren't being run well. Types of harems would differ according to the inherited instinctive needs of the species and they would build the expectations of their cultures around supporting those needs.
But as with some humans on our world, some anthromorph people will want things that the other members of their species don't. And that will apply to some cultures within a species. Going against the nature of your species has a cost Humans CAN have a harem but our nature creates jealousy regarding sharing a mate especially among women. That make it very hard for a woman to share a man with another woman. In a different species the need to have a harem mate and feel the comfort of being part of a harem might be strong. The jealousy thing might be nothing at all in harem species because nature would have turned it down to keep it out of the way of the need to make a harem.
Received on Mon Mar 03 2014 - 22:14:35 CST