Exploring polygamy

The poll is not anonymous. Be prepared to detail your position if you participate in the general discussion. Multiple answers are allowed.

The question of how we view polygamy allows for several responses. As heterosexual men and women, would we prefer to have several spouses to ourselves, or would we be willing to share our spouse with several coequal spouses? Do bisexuals see any attraction in the proposition? How would homosexuals view the formalization of previously colloquial familial assertions based in communal living? Are you one who opposes or rejects polygamy for moral, legal, or psychiatric reasons? Or perhaps you just don't care what other people do?

If you marry someone, do you need to specify that it is a monogamous relationship at the outset? Should you be able to block your spouse from adding other spouses to the equation? What legal authority and rights does another spouse enjoy regarding any children born to one spouse?

In other words, would you enter a polygamous marriage, and how, exactly, do you envision that arrangement functioning?

Much of the opposition to polygamy is a combination of myopic superstition and a less-than-appreciable history that includes variously harems, blind religious devotion, abusive psychological manipulation, and confusion about basic issues such as whose children respond to what authority.

To the other, much support for polygamy is invested in myopic superstition, less-than-appreciable traditions, blind religious devotion, and abusive psychological manipulation. A libertarian appeal on behalf of polygamy ought to do more than simply throw people to the wolves; it seems paradoxical to call for the recognition of a practice by a civilized society while refusing the proposition of customs and laws that govern conduct in a civilized society.

So what do you mean when you say "polygamy"? How does it work? Is it something you would do?

Have at it.

 

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polygamy in my view is having many wives and children from them and it being a lawful thing

I do not see a poll thou

Mod Note: Poll delay overlaps with post (note closure time). Also, merged consecutive posts with matching time-stamps.

 

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I vote that polygamy is totally dumb, and I base it on social statistics.I have a web blog on this subject:

http://scripturerefinersfire.blogspot.com/2007/09/polygamy-is-for-dummies.html

Pay particularly close attention to the data on Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona which are both polygamy meccas from The FLDS church:

Hildale, Utah

......................................Hildale.................................Utah...............
Median age.....................13.1 Youngest in state...26.8 Youngest in nation
Persons per household....8.55 Largest in state.......3.13 Largest in nation
Avg household income*...$21,822..........................$41,316
Per capita income..............$3,772.Lowest in state...$14,492
% of families in poverty.....32.4%..............................11.4%

*Average household adjusted gross income from federal tax returnsSource: Utah Tax Commission 1995, US Census, Utah and ArizonaDepartments of Education.


Colorado City, Arizona

.........................................Colorado City...............Arizona
Median age........................12.5 Youngest in state......32.2
Persons per household.......7.97 Largest in state.........2.62
Avg household income*.....$19,663............................$35,426
Per capita income..............$2,319..............................$13,461
% of families in poverty.......61%..................................11.4%

*Average household adjusted gross income from federal tax returns Source: Utah Tax Commission 1995, US Census, Utah and Arizona Departments of Education.

 

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Denying others of their wishes as long as they are peaceful and sincere...would be wrong from my side. My choice is to let those who wish to be polygamists to act so, but myself I have one love to live for, that act by my judgement is the source of power of my soul.

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​

 

not into polygamy myself, but I couldn't care less if someone else did.

~String

 

but you would care if someone else did it, by accepting others doing it.

 

You don't get it. This thread is not about childabuse but marriage between consenting ADULTS!!!!

 

Polygamy is evil. Even though it is allowed in my religion, I oppose to it and
anyone who did it. If my (future) husband wants more wives, he is free to do
so, but I'll leave him. For me it is one or nothing at all.

 

i voted for the second last option (BTW i love your comment after the other tiassa

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). Personally i know myself well enough that i KNOW i wouldnt be able to get over the jelousy thing and so i wouldnt expect my partner to either. However if it works for other people its not up to me to say its wrong

 

If you feel my opinion is irrelevant, then perhaps you should ignore me as I've chosen to ignore you, or report it to the moderators as off topic (in your opinion).

The OP says it is about exploring polygamy. The authority and psychological pressures of this family arrangement are cited more than once by the OP.

It's a fact that polygamists have dozens of children through their multiple wives. The psychological and financial ills of child abandonment affect the society in which I live. I feel this observation is on subject, it is real, and it is substantiated. I also feel it would be narrowminded to ignore this social and ethical ill when polygamous marriage is being evaluated.

I'm sure you feel differently so let's just ignore each other. Deal?

 

This and that

I'll throw my hat with Woody on the relevance, but at the same time bring over a point I made in Asguard's polygamy thread:

Any idea can be poorly executed, and the fact that polygamy has, for centuries, treated women poorly and reinforced male-supremacist stereotypes is not in any way a final testament against the practice.​

Quite obviously, for instance, I would oppose a form of polygamy such as we've seen from the FLDS. But that doesn't speak for the whole of the practice. I haven't voted in my own poll yet because I haven't decided where I stand on one of the options. I certainly reject polygamy—as I've expressed before—on psychiatric grounds. But do I oppose the practice entirely? That's actually one of the things I'm hoping to learn with this discussion; the examples we have are not the whole range of possibility.

 

I don't have a problem with you. I have the OP on Ignore so I don't know what the OP says.

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But generally when we talk about legalizing poligamy nobody thinks of the forced childmarriages for religious reasons. If gays want to marry for whatever reasons, why deeply religious people shouldn't be allowed to marry more people? (as long as it is among consenting adults)

So your argument can be easily defeated with an AGELIMIT on poligamous marriages...Like 18 or so...

 

If we're old enough to decide for ourselves, why not? Not my cup of tea, but if it works for you, go ahead.

 

See? This is why I don't support gays marriage. Ouch, wrong thread.

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I have an easy solution to that. Let's give them equal spouse's right, let's call it civil union, and if they want to call it marriage, it is their business. But the state would call it civil union, with equal insurance/inheritence/etc. rights... Then everybody should be happy and we could move on...

 

the whole 'it'll start a landslide' argument is pretty pathetic. i'd want a better reason to deny people what they see as their right. the dangers of polygamy are different to that of gay marriage, you can justify differing beliefs on each issue.

its like how my gf's parents didn't let me sleep over at first, saying that other siblings will expect the same privelege. cross that bridge when you get to it, different rules for different situations.

as for polygamy in australia, i am worried about the risk to children. what's the statistics on males paying child care, last i heard its pretty crap? how will one male provide for so many children in the event of divorce/s? i guess this is a problem which should be solved by 'parent licenses', and isn't part of 'should consenting adults be allowed to marry several partners', but unless there's some kind of plan for the kiddies then polygamy wouldn't get my vote.

 

No, it does not. I really meant to say it here. I already said in another thread
back then (where you participated in it), that when you justify one wrong
thing, it could be used to justify another wrong thing, and then the whole
things go wrong.


Anyway, as for Syzygys' solution:

Actually when I think of it further, it is pretty useless to discuss this thing
without context. In which society is this gay marriage wants to be held? Islam
view on it is pretty clear, it doesn't accept gay marriage. If it will be done in
other society, fine then, go for it. I even started to wonder now, on what
basis is your society argue about gays marriage?

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On the religious basis, it is actually becomes pretty simple to me now. When it
comes to gay marriage, go for it (in your non-Muslim society). I promise I won't
comment further (if it is done in your society). If it is Muslims who want to do
the gays marriage, then they should go out from Muslim society and go to where
gay marriage is accepted.

 

what parallels will they draw between gay marriage and polygamy? polygamy=risk to children, therefore can't justify polygamy. i know pro-polygamists can say oh well u lets the gays marry, but the sanctity or definition of marriage isn't the issue here.

we'd simply need to be careful legalising gay marriage, making sure it allows one person to marry one other person, rather than setting the precedent for marriage to be defined however anyone likes.

 

No Draq. I wouldn't and couldn't care less. I don't care. Marry. Dont' marry. Marry a hundred times. I don't care. Period.

~String