As we come to the end of 2011, it seems appropriate that we take a second look at some of the articles published on SWB that offered a different perspective on polygamy than shown on TLC's Sister Wives.
First up, BBC's Inside Polygamy documentary featuring Randy Maudsley and family.
Part One:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/inside-story-polygamy-part-1-of-5-video.html
Part Two:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/inside-story-polygamy-part-2-of-5.html
Part Three:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/inside-story-polygamy-part-3-of-5.html
Part Four:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/inside-story-polygamy-part-4-of-5.html
Part Five:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/inside-polgamy-part-5-incest.html
Here's an interesting follow-up article on Randy Maudsley:
http://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-happened-to-randy-maudsley.html
12/29/11
I randomly picked one to watch, this one...
ReplyDeletehttp://sisterwivesblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/inside-story-polygamy-part-3-of-5.html
My God, the second half of that one about the Harpers....uhh!!!
The womens' faces....the hollow, lifeless eyes of those women !!! It makes you cringe to wonder what goes on when the cameras leave.
Celestial marriages....that's what they call them!! Man needs many petals to achieve his spiritual flower...??
So sad for those women..!!!
They may as well as have collars and leashes.
I wonder what's up with the John Harper family these days. He wasn't happy. His wives seemed like zombies. How has another decade of that dissatisfaction effected them?
ReplyDeleteThe essential aspect of this polygamy (Mormon?)crap I simply don't understand is how the women sacrifice so much for such a paltry kingdom/heaven. Ok, they die. They get drawn through the veil into a celestial kingdom where their only job (AGAIN!) is to pump out spiritual babies for the gods (men.) The hell...? I mean, at least have a vision of heaven that offers some decent rewards, cash prizes, great vacations, good food, oneness with the lord, SOMETHING other than constant pregnancy and labor.
What kind of woman settles for that crap? How little these women must think of themselves, their talents and possibilities.
I don't understand how that kind of lifestyle still exist in 2012....... What authorities are waiting for to take action ? How can you look away from this ? ...I still wonder how can these womens subject themselves to that life, the ones that really have the choice anyway..... I think we can never underestimate the power of endoctrination.....how sad for the children......
ReplyDeletePretty sick...this is not ALL polygamous people tho...and thankfully, it is from 1998 and now we have the Dargers and the Browns in the media...
ReplyDeleteLike any other thing in the world, people can make it bad or make it good...
Yes, the Browns and the Dargers are Pretty sick. Would be interesting to see an example of someone making Polygamy good, but still waiting for that.
ReplyDeleteHow can polygamy ever be good?
ReplyDeleteWhat is the upside?
Polygamy is entirely based on women being second class beings to men. How can that ever end happily?
Someone above said "how can polygamy ever be good?, don't forget that not all polygamists are offshoots of mormon fundamentalism or muslim. A polyamorous relationship could work and be beneficial depending on the people and the situation. I had a friend who was raised in a very strict religious household, as an adult most of her meaningful relationships were with women but she also wanted to have children (her own children), she sought normalacy and being married to her best friend who was a man(and who thoroughly understood her) gave her a sense of that.....I think if she had another woman living in that house with them she would have been perfectly happy. Its easy to jugde sometimes, but we should all remember to be open minded because unless u have walked in another persons shoes, u really can't say what it right or wrong for them :)
ReplyDeleteA relative of the other famous Dargers, perhaps?
ReplyDeletehttp://deadspin.com/241513/joe-darger-has-two-mommies-and-a-crapload-of-siblings
Hello to all of you wonderful people at SWB. I look forward each day to reading your comments and am so happy to be in your company. I wish I could join the group officially but seem to not be able to so I always sign my name, not truly anonymous.
ReplyDeleteI hope for everyone a fabulous New Year, be sure to have some "Hoppin John" on New Year's day for good luck all year. That's a tradition in the south but it works everywhere. (That is black eyed peas and rice, traditionally prepared with hog jowl, but I prefer bacon and ham. The little teeth gross me out!"
On that note, thank you everybody. You are a blessing and I think of you all as friends.
Happy New Year!
Crystal in Florida
To Anon 8:04 -
ReplyDeleteThat doesn't sound like polygamy at all.
If your friend had all the economic and social power, would she still live with a man? Or would she live with a woman? Or would she simply have children on her own?
Polygamy isn't a casual set-up between consenting adults. It's institutionalized marriages between a man and several wives. Part of the institution is that the women have to please the man for all their power, their salvation, their security.
The only power a woman has is in picking whatever man she wants, married or not. But ever notice how arranged marriage quickly follows the installation of polygamy? And the women marry younger and younger in order to manipulate their "choices".
People develop flexible relationships that fit their own needs. That is not the same as polygamy.
Anon 8:04
ReplyDeleteJust to add to plot's post - the polygamy spoken about is the one based on total fear as taught by the so-called "prophets". In that realm women don't have a choice at all unless they choose to be damned to hell for not subjecting themselves to the whim of a man. Even Meri herself said she wouldn't have chose polygamy if it wasn't for the religious reason. A living arrangement between consenting adults not based on fear or obligation is nothing like polygamy.
Technically speaking, what I am referring to is polygamy if all 3 of them were married. Why wouldn't it be? Polygamy means married to more than one spouse, just because you personally relate polygamy to this particular group of mormon fundys doesn't mean that is the only context in which polygamy is applicable. It exists outside mormondom, it sometimes exists outside religions completely depending on where a person resides. I do not think my friend would choose to only be with a woman or only a man because she gains something different from each person that the other cannot provide. If one wants to make the statement or pose the question "how can polygamy in this particular situation, where women are second class citizens and people are ruled by fear?" I would feel differently about it than I do with it being asked as a generalization. Just my 2 cents :)
ReplyDeletesorry, that last part should have read "How can polygamy, in this particular situation, where women are second class citizens and people are ruled by fear, be good?" Guess I was typing faster than my brain lol....
ReplyDeleteSo sad,
ReplyDeleteIt is terrible to see the horrendous situations that these women are put in. Listening to the first part of the special, I was horrified to see that a man abandoned his wife and 6 children in order to join a cult and acquire new wives to make more children. How can such abandonment be called "good"? I can't see it
Anon 6:13 & 6:20 - Yes you are absolutely right. I ,and I believe Plot, were just referring to this particular group of people (AUB). Take fear & obligation out of the equation and I don't see any issue.
ReplyDeleteAnon 6:48 - How twisted was that huh??? How do you leave your family to start a new one and think that's what's going to get you a celestial kingdom? Unbelievable...