Polygamy is becoming a more of widespread problem within the United States. Polygamy is the "state of marriage to many spouses" There are three different kind of polygamy. Polyamory, also called non-monogamy is when you are in multiple relationship with any kind of gender. Polyandry, which is less common is when a woman has more than one husband. Polygyny is the opposite of polygyny, it is when a man has more than one wife (Webster). Most families hide the fact that they live a polygamous lifestyle out of fear of retribution. However, polygamy is becoming more accept and families are coming out of hiding. This is leaving America with one question, should polygamy be legal within the United States?
Polygamy goes back to the beginning of time. Polygamy was accepted throughout the world until the church deemed a different set of rules. Before 1890 polygamy was illegal within the United States. In 1899 the Church of the Latter-Day Saints began to excommunicate those who still practiced Polygamy. Polygamy was originally started in other countries and was most common in royal families (Polygamy Stop). This insured that they had more sons than daughters. In the bible there are several references to multiple wives and concubines, which is the same exact thing as polygamy.
There are still 100,000 people in the United States that are living the polygamous lifestyle illegally. Over two billion women and children live under the tyranny of the polygamy lifestyle. Most polygamous families like in Utah and some cities on the border of Arizona. A few polygamous families are found along the east coast but are not as recognized (Polygamy Stop).
Polygamy originally started in other countries and is still a huge part of their lifestyle. It is legal in countries such as Africa and the Middle East. In Islam it is legal for a man to marry up to four wives (Polygamy Stop). Polygamy is very common in other countries. There used to be a scarcity of men so it was necessary for them to marry more than one woman. However, in the United States there is actually more men than women so it is not a need. Having more wives also insures more children, which means they can help out more with the labor. This is very common in other countries the kids are put to work. Another reason polygamy is practiced is to provide sexual satisfaction to men. Because there are so many children if the wives suffer from a lengthy post-partum depression than there is always another wife to provide (Bailey).
Polygamy was accepted by Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints until the fourth President Wilford Woodruff forbid it. He publicly declared"my advice to the Latter-Day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land." (Polygamy Battle). Those who do practice polygamy are no longer called Mormons but Fundamentalists.
"And it takes a real man to live it. It is not a matter of lust. To take plural wives, a man doubles, triples or quadruples his responsibilities. He has more problems to solve. He must create a home in which harmony and selflessness prevail. He must provide. And it takes a real saint of a woman. She must overcome human weaknesses. In the polygamous home, there can be no jealousy, no selfishness. The whole family must live for the family, not for individuals. The children are finer. They never acquire the pettiness of other children. They live in a home where all are true brothers and sisters and love and serve one another, as God intended it." (Hall)
Polygamy was introduced in the bible in Mark 10:11; it is made clear that Jesus condones multiple wives. However, in Mark 10:2-9 Jesus gives us his views on marriage and Adam and Eve. From the story we can convey that we are only supposed to marry one person. We were not made to marry multiple. We know from reading about Jacob and Solomon in the bible that Polygamy ruined society. It is not something we want to encourage or accept in our society today (Hall). Many people argue that polygamy is a religion and not a crime. They want to believe it is protected under the First Amendment. However sexual assault is a crime, and that is what is happening within these societies.
The women and men who participate in this religion or lifestyle believe that it is a positive thing. They believe that one of the positive things about polygamy is that the children have several different mothers. This exposes them to different views and gives them someone to always go to as well as different views on specific subjects. However, does this replace the lack of a father? It must be hard for one man to be a father to twenty to seventy five children.
One of the negatives with polygamy is the jealousy (Polygamy Pros and Cons). In a normal relationship with just two people jealousy can be a problem. When you add more people to the mix, the jealousy will be more of a problem. The children are sacrificing a father. Because there are more women to bear children, it is not uncommon to have many kids. There is more than one mother but only one father. The father does not get enough time with the children. There is often more abuse within these types of relationships (Polygamy Pros and Cons). Polygamy fosters anti-social behavior, abuse, and more crime than monogamous relationships. Children are also forced to marry younger (Troy). Many studies show that women in polygamous marriages are not as happy as those in monogamous relationships (Al-Krenawi, Alean. 2001). It is also shown that women who become pregnant within a polygamous marriage are more likely to experience depression (Fatoye, F. O., A. B. Adeyemi, and B. Y. Oladimeji. 2004). Because of the amount of wives within the home emotional abuse is often common (Al-Krenawi, Alean. 2001). Hammon explains how she watched her mom struggle emotionally, "I watched my mom just die emotionally and I relate that to marriage,"
The effect on children alone is brutal. There was a research study done in 2002 on how living in a polygamous family affects the children. There is a greater risk of marital disputes when they become an adult. They will also experience more family abuse and violence, as well as family, financial and marital distress. It also showed that women are overall unhappy from the absence of a father, which causes problems with men (Bailey).
There has been increased crime, prostitution, and anti-social behavior in polygamous societies. This directly affects our society. Polygamy creates inequality between men and women (Bramham). Polygamy does no encourage the children to get an education (Spencer). They are to grow up and find a husband and sister-wives and have several children. If you have not done this, you have failed. Not teaching these children to go get an education and become independent it becomes a drain on society (Spencer). Without hard working people society will struggle to function and poverty will become more prominent. Incest is a common theme within polygamy, a result of incest is a kids who have disabilities. They have no regard for their child's health (Townsend).
Not every polygamous family co-habits, this leaves the dad having to go from family to family. This will leave emotional ramifications for the child Father may choose to spend more time with another wife/child. Because the families live differently they can be open to bullying and harassment (Spencer). This may be isolating for the child. Kids are also more likely to live in poverty. Irene Spencer describes what it was like living in a house with only 14 of the 58 children within the family (Spencer). Al-Krenawi (1997) found that the children bore from the first wife have "inadequate and/or dysfunctional exposure to their father" As a result, behavioral problems are more common.
When former polygamous wives and children are asked if they felt like they were living in a cult, there answer is yes. They blindly follow their husbands; they do not have much say in what to goes on. They also become isolated, are no longer allowed to see anyone else in their family, and are not listened to (Spencer). The leader of their "sect" make it known that if you so not live plural marriage than you will not make it into Heaven (Hammon). Because they believe everything they are told, they blindly believed this was the case.
Many people believe now that gay marriage is becoming legal polygamy should be legal as well. However, there is a difference, being gay isn't a choice. Choosing to have multiple wives or choosing to have sister wives is a choice. Open marriages are a little bit different, it is a serious relationship. They do not intend on getting married, and they don't usually have kids.
Polygamous families participate in numerous crimes, thinking the law does not apply to them. Polygamous families participate in underage marriages, often marrying them off at 12 or 13. Some of them participate in bigamy which is being married to more than one wife at a time. Underage sex is also another common theme within this practice or religion (Jacobson).
Many members of the closed polygamous society are beginning to leave due to the amount of abuse and some are terrified to do so. Warren Jeffs, the leader of the polygamous communities was imprisoned for sexually assaulting a fourteen-year-old. He was married to over eighty women. He is now serving a life plus twenty-year sentence in prison. A very vivid rape video was played at his trial. The evidence against him was undeniable. The tape showed a twelve-year-old girl restrained to a temple or alter. This tape showed fifteen minutes of Warren Jeffs having sex with her. While he was abusing the girl the wives were standing nearby in case she needed to be held down. Sexual abuse is not the only crime that is being committed in these communities. Kidnapping, rape, incest, and massive fraud are crimes that are committed as well. Recently a member came forward and conveyed how much more actually goes on in Short Creek, Arizona; "involuntary "reassignments" of women to new husbands, the intimidation of children, book burnings, assaults and kidnappings by "God squads" composed of religious vigilantes and Short Creek's state-certified police force, and so on" (Weyermann).
Warren Jeffs is still controlling what happens in these polygamous societies. He is going down as a martyr, the sexual abuse, marrying underage, and multiple wives. The members of the "sect" still don't feel like they can get out (Winslow). Hammons, who escaped the polygamous lifestyle explains what it was like in the home."There was a tremendous amount of abuse in our home," Hammon said. "It happened on a daily basis and there was all kinds: sexual, physical, emotional, mental. My brothers were sexually abusive. Some of my mothers were physically abusive." Hammons was sexually abused by her father before she turned five. She who had seventy-four sibling explained how her father couldn't remember her name.
Hammons escaped Polygamy at fourteen, she had nineteen mothers and fifty-eight siblings (Townsend). Mary Mackret was married off when she was seventeen to a fifty-year-old man who locked his in a closed for disobeying him. Flor Jessop was forced to marry he first cousin and was not allowed to go to the bathroom alone (Christenson). Jessica Christenson is another woman who escaped polygamy. She ran away at fifteen years old along with her sister. She had twelve siblings and two hundred half siblings. She explains how it was a process to escape. Not only do you have to move all of your stuff out you have to train yourself emotionally and mentally to stop thinking the way that you do. She explains how when you are suppressed in that environment you cannot think for yourself, and you cannot male you own decisions (Arnowitz).
As you can see polygamy has many negative effects on women, children, and society as a whole. It is not something that should be legal in the United States. It can be detrimental to the children and society. And people like Warren Jeffs abuse the power and suppress the rights of every human within the "sect." There is a reason so many people have an issue with it. There was reason for having it years ago but as society develops we need to develop as well. There is no need for polygamy within the United States right now.
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