Love Letters Justin Garcia: “Monogamy is not just one thing.”
Feb 24, 2026
Justin Garcia, executive director of the Kinsey Institute and author of The Intimate Animal, is an evolutionary biologist who studies sex, relationships, and fidelity. He contrasts social and sexual monogamy. He explains "slow love" and why young people delay commitment. He discusses ways couples sustain intimacy and how modern courtship is shaped by caution and honesty.
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Hormone Responses Vary Widely During Sex
- Field physiology studies show high variability in hormonal responses to sexual activity, so lab results can be inconsistent.
- Garcia collected saliva at a Las Vegas sex club and found testosterone and estradiol responses varied widely across individuals.
Monogamy Is Two Different Things
- Monogamy splits into social monogamy (relationship structure) and sexual monogamy (sexual exclusivity).
- Justin Garcia explains they are driven by different brain mechanisms and evolutionary selection pressures for bonding versus sexual novelty.
Slow Love Explains Delayed Relationships
- Young people practice 'slow love': prolonged courtship with delayed marriage and extended periods of getting-to-know-you.
- Justin links earlier puberty with later marriage, creating unprecedented long windows for exploration and caution.
