The Witness Wore Red: The Legalization Of Polygamy

This article surprised me due to the fact that the idea that a wife can have more than one husband never crossed my mind. I had been aware of men having more than one wife, but never a wife having more than one husband. This completely opposes other cultures that I have learned about because in most cultures, men are the dominant power. This article suggests the opposite, that women actually acquire more power to those in other cultures. The idea of a polyandry type of marriage always interested me since I had been taught my whole life that, “love conquers all.” I had been raised with the idea that people settle with only one

When the term marriage is brought up in casual conversation many minds jump straight to husband, wife, three point five children and a family dog. After the controversial airing of the show sister wives, however, the term is stretched to mean much different and unconventional meaning. Sisterwives, or Plural Marriage, are terms commonly used in the religion and social group of Polygamist Mormons. The majority of this country sees this as a convictable offence toward women, toward the sanctity of marriage, and towards the welfare of the nation.

This research will address the self-proclaimed prophet of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints, a sect of Mormonism based in Utah, Warren Jeffs and his cult of fear. Warren Jeffs had control over ten thousands of followers for nearly a decade. Warren Jeffs coerced young girls into polygamous marriages with older men. Jeffs is estimated to have over 70 wives. The media was shunned, and he created a hidden community where polygamy was prized above anything else. In 2007, after there was a two year FBI manhunt, Jeffs was convicted as an accomplice to rape. Warren Jeff's rise to power effort led to his fallout. Even after his conviction his followers believed that he was innocent and held onto his beliefs and practices.

Could you imagine living in a world where it is acceptable for a man to marry more than one woman and be open about it? Not many can and that is why the practice of polygamy such is seen as taboo. The families usually live very private lives and they do not interact with a lot of the rest of America due to anti-bigamy society we live in. Polygamy is the practice of being married to more than one person at the same time (Webster 2015). This is not to be confused with an open relationship or an open marriage. This topic has been viewed and deemed as controversial for many years. As a practice that was not accepted in the public eye, it recently has gained more attention with mainstream media and culture. With shows on television such as “Sister

In polyandry marriage, the wife is married to multiple men usually the men are brothers. Today I see many view polyandry marriages as acceptable. Watching Sisters Wives on TLC even though the husband has multiple wife’s it’s a similar situation. In the past this kind of marriage was never publicized. Most felt the woman should only be married to one man at a time. Therefore,

The term “polyamory,” to some, is a confusing word describing a lifestyle found to be even more baffling. However, polyamorous relationships are growing in popularity and have roots dating back hundreds of years. Polyamory is described as the “assumption that it is possible, valid, and worthwhile to maintain intimate sexual and/or loving relationships with more than one person simultaneously, without deception or betrayal” (Morrison, Beaulieu, Brockman, & Beaglaoich, 2013). Polyamorous relationships are a subsect of nonmonogamous relationships that place focus on functionality, happiness, exploration, and love for all involved. Polyamory is not to be confused with terms such as polygyny (multiple wives), polyandry (multiple husbands), or polygamy

Crying from children within these families is not allowed and they use sheer force to quiet them. To “quiet” them down they use abusive methods that could absolutely send the parents to jail such as putting their children under a faucet, drowning them, spanking them until they could cry no more, and much more. Children are subjected to religious indoctrination by force and are told to “keep sweet” at a young age so they are not abused constantly. If they do not “keep sweet” they will either be banished by the prophet or will be abused until they follow orders and do as they are told. In Andrea Moore-Emmett’s “Behind the cloak of Polygamy”, Emmett talks about how women and children are treated unfairly within polygamous households and cannot stand up to their father’s or husband's tyranny. Emmett talks to Laura Chapman, a polygamy survivor, and laura says “since a father”can all but kill a child for deliberately disobeying”’ (Emmett 1). Emmett is talking about how Laura is telling her about how a father can almost succeed in achieving what he wants since mothers can do nothing about their child being beaten almost to

Polygamist Marriage is the union including more than two partners. There is a more specific breakdown of Polygamy. Polygyny is a marriage between one man and multiple women. Polyandry is the union of one woman and multiple men. And Lastly Polyamory represents a marriage having both multiple husbands and wives. And despite the fact that Polygamist marriage in illegal in the United States, 30,000 to 50,000 people are living in plural families

The effect this practice has had on woman who marry a man who is a polygamist has shown she is not happy sharing her husband. Many woman think they are ok with the idea of sharing a husband with multiple women going into the marriage but soon realize it is not such a good idea.

As of 2015, thirty-seven U.S. states have legalize same-sex marriage, and with arguments in a landmark case currently being presented in the Supreme Court this month; there is little doubt that the modern definition of legal marriage will soon be forever changed in The United States. While same-sex marriage is still the center of fierce debate and opposition from primarily religious conservatives, public opinion reflects a more tolerant social consensus. Despite this relatively recent legal trend of marriage law reform, same-sex relationships are obviously nothing new. Like same-sex relationships, polygamous relationships have also existed in the U.S. regardless of state recognition. Curiously, unlike same-sex marriage, virtually no significant progress has been made for legal recognition of polyamorous unions. One could argue that “poly-progress” is more than just stagnant, but moving in a negative direction considering Supreme Court rulings consistently upholding polygamy bans. Mainstream representation of polygamy, or debate and discussion on its merits seem virtually non-existent, save the occasional voyeurism of reality television shows or liberalism of “think-pieces” buried deep within online newspapers archives. Monogamy commands such extreme reinforcement in American culture that polygamy is unconsciously considered “not up for debate,” and synonymous with evil even across

In fact, monogomy is so normal in our society that polygomy is against the law, and adultery is a felony. Western society fully accepts that marriage and serious relationships are exclusive. To act against this by having multiple partners (whether all involved parties are informed or not) is objectionable legally and socially. However, it is believed that it is against human nature to have romantic and sexual feelings for only one person, explaining why divorce is so common in western society. Polygamous communities and relationships are ostracized and often mocked in the form of television programs and news stories. Monogomy is a practice so conventional in today’s society that submitting to any desires against it is socially and legally

The only sort of news story we are likely to hear concerning polygamy are those documenting the abuses committed by male patriarchs in which the victims are women and children. The media’s portrayals highlight the maltreatments suffered inside cult-like compounds where the residents live in complete isolation from society, and are coaxed in to complying with orders given by a prophet who proclaims to speak directly with God (Beaman, 2006). These accounts are usually led to light by some brave, young girl who made a mad dash for freedom to escape an arranged marriage to a much older man. The reports often discuss the prevalence of child brides, forced marriages, and incest within polygamist Mormonism. Beaman (2006) argues that focusing on these

The concept of polyamory is one which often holds negative connotations among the populace. Many people have moral or religious obligations which hold them back from accepting more liberal approaches to love and relationships. This is important to note because it demonstrates why people may be hesitant in joining a polyamorous community or transitioning into an open

While the practice of polygamy has existed in the United States for quite some time, it remains relatively taboo in most regards, being that is often associated with child abuse and oppression of women. For the purposes of this blog, we are only discussing marriage between consenting adults, and find that relationships derived from coercion, brainwashing, and abuse do not meet the standards of “marriage.”

Despite many individual’s thinking, polygamy is a practice that is still valued today by the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and its followers. It is mostly negative for its members, and does not have any positives correlated with the practice. It causes much abuse among members, former and current, like the situation of Elissa Wall, like stated previously. Unless the FLDS undergoes some major changes and reformations, polygamy will most likely stay illegal for an extended amount of time. Even though they demand religious