Differences in beliefs about procreation affects the patterns of parenting and the relations between men and women. Some societies, like the Bari, believe that multiple men can procreate the same fetus. This belief affects the patterns of parenting to the extent that women with multiple men are highly regarded in society and receive support from the men to raise up the child. On the contrary, children born from a single man do not enjoy the same parenting privileges. Research has also shown that children from multiple parentages have a higher chance of growing to adulthood than children with only one parent because of the extra care they get from all the alleged fathers.
The two dads practice tends to affect the social organization and the power balance among the sexes. Women with multiple men enjoy a higher social status in society since they receive extra care from multiple men who believe to have sired a child with them. They, therefore, have a higher bargaining power than the men.
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In my society, marriage is regarded as a recognized social contract between two people. The contract is based on a sexual relationship with the aim of procreation and permanence of union. However, this view of marriage and family might be affected by understanding cross-cultural views. There are other variations which include whether the relationship should be of the same sex or different sexes and how the procreation of children is understood in different cultures.
There are also varied views about the family as an institution. Conventionally, marriages are what create families. However, this notion is perceived differently in different cultures where one there are varied opinions of what exactly constitutes a family. Should a family be single, monogamous, polygamous, polyandry or a polygyny? All these marriage types exist among different cultural setups.