Do you believe this is endemic to heterosexual relationships? As a gay man, where casual sex is normative (and I am not an exception, though I am by nature mono

Do you believe this is endemic to heterosexual relationships? As a gay man, where casual sex is normative (and I am not an exception, though I am by nature monogamous and currently in a monogamous relationship), I don't see any of these problems as you suggest. 1. From what I've seen, the player/whore dynamic has minimized in both the heterosexual and LGBT communities. Those who are excessive in community eyes can be shunned (someone who cannot form a relationship, or seems to have no interest in doing so), but regular casual sex is considered normative for all genders. 2. Both my partner and I have alternated between periods of promiscuity and monogamy. Even after over 100 partners, my wires have not been permanently separated. I know partners in open relationships who maintain emotional primacy in their relationships and different levels of openness - playing together, open when one is out of town, to full open relationships. In the gay community, at least, I don't see this concern develop. 3. Love and devotion are certainly part of the equation! Casual sex is considered, at least in some subcultures, as something to do while in between relationships, or as part of a mutually consenting open relationship. 4. This presumes a polygamous male and a monogamous female. In an egalitarian society, we're still talking about a primary partner (or partners, as works quite well with bisexuals, for example.) It does make relationships more confusing as people have to negotiate their own rules, but this doesn't have to be a social regression, unless you're talking about regressing to a common ancestor as the bonobos. :)