Monogamy Could Be Built Into Our Genetics

A newly published study in the scientific journal Nature points to the novel concept of monogamous behaviour being encoded in genes. Using two species of mice with differing parental tendencies—the monogamous oldfield mouse and their close relatives, deer mice, which tend to veer toward promiscuous behaviour—scientists at Harvard University conducted a study that could lay the groundwork for figuring out if human genetics work similarly.

The mice species used in the study may carry some similarities to our own biology because they're mammals. Oldfield mice, tiny fawn-coloured, black-eyed creatures that inhabit the Southeastern US, stand apart from other similar species in a crucial way that affected the direction of the study: They're one of the only species included in the five percent of mammals in which the father helps care for offspring and forms a long-term bond with the mother. Scientists identified a specific section of their DNA that affects parental behaviour in the mice—oddly enough, they also found that the way these genetics play out in terms of the way the mice behave are different depending on the sex of the mouse. That means that males and females may be encoded differently when it comes to the tendency toward or rejection of monogamy.

"We can go from the bottom up and build our knowledge base, and then ask questions about human biology," Gene E. Robinson, a biologist at the University of Illinois, told the New York Times.

And while we don't yet know if human genetics are encoded in the same way, it would be pretty fucking wild if that ends up being the case. It could mean that polyamorous people and monogamous people are different at a basic genetic level, which is at once a terrifying concept and would make a lot of sense. It would at least explain to me, a poly person, why I can't seem to get some people to level with me about my identity.

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