Is more than two company or a crowd?

South African president Jacob Zuma began a three-day state visit to the UK on Wednesday (you can follow his whereabouts on Mark Tran's liveblog ). Only the president's newest bride, Thobeka Madiba Zuma , has accompanied him. Zuma's polygamy has been criticised after he admitted that he had fathered a child with an unmarried woman 28 years his junior. But Duduzani Zuma, one of Zuma's sons, swiftly came to his defence: "We as a family are content with the polygamous nature of our household." Debates on polygamy are often framed by the clashing perspectives of religious doctrine and feminist-inspired critiques of exploitation of women, with accusations of cultural imperialism and counter-accusations of patriarchal oppression. Meanwhile, very few communities actively exercise polygamy's opposite, polyandry. But perhaps, in the context of polygamy, we should be able to discuss different models of relationships. Should love and commitment between two people – the couple – really be the only approved sort of relationship in society? What about alternative living arrangements, such as open relationships and communes, let alone the extended families of polygamous unions?