Look in the self-help section of bookstores in the trendy neighborhoods of Portland, Seattle, Berkeley, and Brooklyn, and you’ll find copies of a slim paperback. On the cover is an image of an unclothed Eve, taken from a Renaissance painting. Titled Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality, it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies since it was first published 15 years ago.
Its authors, Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá, are part of a clique of intellectuals who have been busily promoting the idea that humans are naturally suited to polyamory: the practice of engaging in multiple romantic relationships simultaneously with the consent of all the parties involved. Among the other well-known proponents of this idea is the occasional Psychology Today contributor and University of New Mexico anthropology professor Diana Fleischman. Polyamory isn’t quite the same as polygamy, that’s where one person, usually a man, has more than one spouse, but it seems to be equally toxic.
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