De facto concubinage may be coming back into vogue among Chinese officials, despite official disapproval. But maybe the tables will be turned on male supremacy, even in China. What's sauce for the gander is also sauce for the goose.
A Malay journalist recently followed up a critique of polygamy in her country with an online article about happy, if undercover, polyandrous families in Malaysia. It was a tongue-in-cheek piece at a time when polygamy may be on the rise.
President Jacob Zuma of South Africa has three wives, The New York Times writes about successful polygamous marriage in Malaysia and, in many developed countries, its practise by Muslims and Mormons is rising. So maybe it is time to bring polyandry out of the closet and see whether it may actually often make more sense under modern conditions than polygamy - or even the serial monogamy so common in the US.
Polyandry has been quite a rare phenomenon, formally practised in Tibet, among some tribes in Southeast Asia and India, and informally elsewhere. Its rarity appears to be based on two principle factors. The first is women's need for economic security, which often means dependence on a man for income. The second is the importance of identifying fatherhood - necessary both for the emotional needs of men and because, in most societies, succession and inheritance are through the male line.
In today's developed societies - and increasingly even in Muslim developing ones like Iran - educational standards for women are as high or higher than for men. Hence, they are more capable of earning a living. This is increasing individual independence and women's ability to shape society to their advantage - starting with the choice of a partner and possibly extending to a desire to have more than one, whether informally or on a regular and formal basis.
Then there is the issue of parenthood. Women can not only decide if they want to conceive but, in cases where they have more than one partner, it is now easy for them to determine genetically who is the father. Fathers can be sure of their role in conception, too. These scientific advances undercut the social need for monogamy as well as the advantage of polygamy over polyandry.