Lets talk about Polygamy.

[Mord Alushar]

I personally see nothing wrong with it. If it works for them and the whole party is respecting the rules that have been laid down, then there is nothing wrong with what they are doing.  

[Bipolar Masquerade]

I actually am in a polygamist relationship. I am not morman or anything like that, i'm actually not religious at all. My boyfriend and I are like any other couple, its just sometimes he sees his other girlfriend. She also has another boyfriend and its perfectly fine with all of us. If I was to want to date someone else, it would be fine as long as everyone knows and has met them. Actually my boyfriend is engaged to the other girl, and I'm really happy for them, but it does make me a bit sad that i may not be able to marry him one day because of the way laws are here. But yeah. Any questions about what its like or whatever I'd love to answer! biggrin  

[RiriAngelmirror]

Personally I don't mind Polygamy, but the only problem is how some people start abusing that "privilege" that they have gotten. Terrible example, but true: Warren Jeffs. Seriously, "Polygamist" Leader revealed to be another dirty old man who was into something about underaged.. mishap. (yeah, you can't say that word or it's censored)

Anything to be said? Well, i guess these "extremes" of our nowadays society, like other average problems, can lead to even more problems. So what do you say about this? Is it "Polygamy" that is to be blamed? Or is it the Person?  

[Mord Alushar]

Well, I'm not one to judge people on their relationships and sexual lives. So, all I have to say is, as long as no one is getting hurt, its perfectly fine.  

[THE_FAIRY_EMPRESS]

Mord Alushar

Well, I'm not one to judge people on their relationships and sexual lives. So, all I have to say is, as long as no one is getting hurt, its perfectly fine.

^^ This ^^ is my general outlook. People should be left to their personal choice, and as long as all parties involved understand and consent then no ones else should really get a say wether its right or wrong.

Different people function best in different sorts of relationships.  

[Mord Alushar]

THE_FAIRY_EMPRESS

Mord Alushar

Well, I'm not one to judge people on their relationships and sexual lives. So, all I have to say is, as long as no one is getting hurt, its perfectly fine.

^^ This ^^ is my general outlook. People should be left to their personal choice, and as long as all parties involved understand and consent then no ones else should really get a say wether its right or wrong.

Different people function best in different sorts of relationships.

well said <3  

[broken_bleeding_angel]

Testicular Diabeetus

I actually just read a great book that explained the world of another books series that I enjoy. And a section of it was dedicated to polygamy/polygyny/polyandry due to the relationships that were going on between the main character and her many love interests.

Though before I start I would like to clarify that polygamy isn't just for marriage. It's any kid of relationship where both partners (not just one partner,yes, both male and female) have many partners besides their main or first relationship. What the OP described was actually polygyny, which only addresses a man who has more than one wife. Polyandry is where there is one wife and many husbands. (And probably headaches too...)

P.S. In Montana, Polygamy/gyny/andry is legal. Other states I do not know for certain.

Misunderstood chapter of Nyx in the House of Night: Mythology, Folklore and Religion in the P.C and Kristin Cast Vampyre Series. This chapter was written by Kristin Cast.

Polygyny has been around for hundreds of years, appearing in many cultures for many reasons. Some factors that might have contributed to the development of polygyny include there being significantly more women than men in a particular society, practical household reasons (women are able to divide tasks in polygynous relationships, and having extra parents around may benefit their children), and plain old egotistical reasons.

Prior to Christian colonization, various African cultures accepted this practice 100 percent (and many countries in Africa still do today, though that acceptance isn't absolute; the controversial Jacob Zuma, who was elected president of South Africa in 2009, has come under heavy criticism for having three wives).

In places like western Kenya, a man having many wives and children was seen as a symbol of status and wealth, and he could have as many as he could afford. Men had to pay dowries for each wife, so the more wives a man had the more obvious his wealth was to the people in the village. Following old traditions, the current king of Swaziland, Mswati III, has fourteen wives and twenty-three children. And if you think that’s excessive, by the time his father King Sobhuza II died, he had amassed seventy wives and over a thousand children!

Polygynous arrangements usually started with what we now think of as a “normal” heterosexual marriage between a man and a woman. The first wife, also called the senior wife, would help her husband look for a second wife if she was getting older and/or needed help meeting household needs such as farm work, child rearing, and just plain taking care of the husband. Even though the husband could make the decision on his own to find another wife, he would have to consult the senior wife beforehand on things like familial reputation, beauty, values, mental stability, and physical strength. As the senior wife, her position was always respected, and she would always be involved in the addition of subsequent wives. Rarely based on love, the foundations of these marriages instead were based in mutual respect and support. Each spouse’s role and status had to be clearly outlined and acknowledged to maintain a harmonious balance, though obviously, this was not always the case as jealousies and power trips understandably resulted in tension.

This way of life changed drastically for many Africans once Christian settlers and missionaries began to arrive on the continent, but don’t let their lofty goals fool you. Officially they were monogamous and held the strong belief that God had declared that men were to only be with one wife because “the two,” not three, four, or five, “will become one flesh,” but they definitely were not innocent. The settlers who came to Liberia came up with something called Chrismonopoly. (Ooooo! Sounds fun! Let’s all play!) This hodgepodge of a word is not like your favorite fake-money board game, but if you’d like to play this historic game, go ahead!

The rules:

1. Be a Christian settler.

2. Involve yourself in a monogamous marriage with a Christian wife.

3. (This is the tricky one) While in your monogamous marriage, engage in relationships with native Liberian women.

4. Remember that you’re not involved in a polygynous relationship. It’s Chrismonopoly!

Umm, yeah right. If it quacks like a duck . . .The Hebrew bible, the Torah (aka the Old Testament, for Christians), says that polygyny was practiced in ancient Israelite societies and even mentions approximately forty polygynists, including Abraham, Jacob (remember Rachel and Leah?), and, of course, King Solomon. The Torah even includes specific regulations on the practice and states that husbands should make sure that multiple marriages “don’t diminish the status of the first wife.”

In China, as early as 1911 polygyny was written in the law, but it had actually already been practiced for thousands of years because of the importance their culture places on having children. Emperors could have hundreds, even thousands, of concubines and wives, which would allow for way more kids than simple monogamy. Rich officials and merchants could also have multiple women, thereby increasing their number of children. It was believed that if a man was able to successfully manage not only himself but a family that involved many wives and children, then he would also be able to bring together and manage a nation. Today, polygyny is still practiced in Mainland China, though it was banned there in 1951 under the Marriage Law.

By this time, I bet you’re wondering where all the women’s rights stuff is and whether or not there’s any kind of “poly” dedicated to those with internal genitalia. Well, you’re in luck! Polyandry is the term used to describe women who have multiple husbands . . . and lots of patience.

The idea of a polyandrous society was around way before the patriarchal society we are so accustomed to today. In fact, though there’s a lot of debate on the issue, scholars such as Edward Hartland, Robert Briffault, and Johann Bachofen believe that most societies were originally matriarchal and matrilineal and even practiced polyandry (though they viewed this as just one of the steps in our evolutionary development toward superior patriarchal societies). Sociologist V. Klein suggests that “in early society women wielded the main sources of wealth; they were the owners of the house, the producers of food, they provided shelter and security. Economically,” she points out, “man was dependent upon woman.” (You can read a lot more about early matriarchal societies in When God Was a Woman, by Merlin Stone.)

These cultural practices may not have lasted in the real world, but you can still see them in many mythologies. In Hindu mythology, Princess Draupadi (she actually had many other names that include Panchali, Parsati, Yognyaseni, and Krishnaa) married five brothers who were known as the five Pandavas. These brothers were not only her husbands, but also acted as bodyguards (or Guardians!), protecting her from anyone who wanted to do her harm. On one occasion, Draupadi was kidnapped, and when her husbands found out, they immediately came to her rescue. Draupadi was amazing. She was said to have grown from the fire out of her father’s vengeance against his enemy, and she was known for her beauty, her intelligence, and her eagerness to speak her mind in a man’s world. This Indian firecracker has been considered the first feminist in Indian mythology. You go, girl!

Just to clarify the subject. c: ♥

Now for my answers to your questions. ♥

Would you be able to go into a plural marriage?
Assuming there is another wife before/after me?(Polygyny) No. I am a rather selfish woman who cannot share a man. However I might consider several husbands, (Polyandry) if they're all good looking enough and help around the house. I don't want to care after five, fully capable men in one house, and feel like their mother they get to ******** yes I know my answer isn't gender-based fairly. But if you think of it like I do, (Being stuck in 1 house with a couple of bitches and their bratty-a** children, helping them with their chores and raising their children plus doing/raising your own...) wouldn't seem appealing to you either. And yes, Sister Wives might make it look cutesy at first. But really would you like a husband that's that shitty and having other women around telling you how to raise your kids?

Do you like the idea of a Purl marriage for someone else?
Yeah, why not? I have a friend in an open marriage. If it works for her husband and her, it could work for other people. It's not like it's going to kill anyone.

Do you think it should be legal or illegal?
Marriage is a basic right. If they want multiple miseries, then let them have it. If he deny them marriage, (much like how many of the homosexuals are being done so), then are we not saying they are undeserving and inhuman for wanting more than one wife or husband? I may not be for it, but I'm not going to deny people their basic right to the freedom of marrying who they want, singular or plural wise.

What do you think about the TV show "Sister Wives"?
It's a good example of Polygyny. Not Polygamy, which they advertise it as...
Quite frankly the husband, Corey, is an a*****e who treats his wives horribly. I was not impressed when he became pissed with his one daughter for not wanting to share their religion, (or really his practice of Polygyny) and instead wants only one husband to herself. I also did not care for how he treated Mary, the first wife, when she became unsure as to whether or not she wanted another child. (And yes I know Robin offered to be her surrogate, but really it seems that Mary wants to be able to have the child herself.)

Of course HBO had their own show about a Mormon man who had multiple wives too. Big Love.

From the same chapter as my last quote.same author.

HBO spent years researching the shows premise to make sure they depicted the fake family's lifestyle fairly and without bias.

~ Couple pages later...~

Where’s our modern polyandry? On an episode of Sister Wives, Kody, the husband, and his first wife, Mary, were out to dinner for their twenty-year anniversary. Mary began a conversation about a fourth wife who would soon enter their plural family and the jealousy issues she was dealing with. When she asked him how he would feel if she was giving attention to another guy, Kody was clearly taken aback and responded to her by saying, “Obviously, that’s just not something I’m comfortable with imagining. The vulgarity of the idea of you with two husbands, or another lover, sickens me. It seems wrong to God and nature” (“1st Wife’s 20th Anniversary,” 1-5). Hmm, interesting.

 

[InterstateDaisy]

I think it should be allowed but with guidelines. Like as far as getting married, all current members of that marriage must agree and sign off on it. It's not fair to add another person if someone else in the marriage doesn't like it. It's mostly frowned upon because the religious idea of marriage being between one man and one woman. The church should not be able to dictate government like that because it violates others religious freedom. In the end if those involved in the marriage feel they are in love, then they are in love and it's wrong to stop them from marriage. Just like marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman.