[ot] Polygamy abusive to women?

[Airwolf]

As for the original question, I don't think that polygamy is abusive to women, I think a man could be in that type of situation.

Second, If polygamy becomes accepted I think that Polyandry should also be an accepted practice in America.

 

[Buttercup]

The crux of the matter is, I believe, that 13 year olds aren't considered able to consent to such a thing. Being children still, the law, and western society in general, assumes that they can be too easily coerced, and aren't allowed to enter into any sort of legal contract. Since marriage is a legal contract (as well as sometimes being a religious ceremony), it could be argued that they weren't really married. Since they weren't married, and she wasn't old enough to consent to anything, it is legally considered child rape.

Oh, and let's not forget that one of his other wives was her older sister.

 

[Staffan]

It was acceptable in Al Qa *fricken* Dim. Though, iirc, it was rare since you had to be able to afford the practice.

AQ also had a slightly more egalitarian approach to the matter, since women were also allowed to have more than one spouse (it didn't touch on the subject of whether you could have "network" marriages - where one man is married to several women, at least one of which is married to several men). IIRC, in one of the AQ regions (Pearl Cities, I think) it was custom for women to be in charge of a merchant house and travel from port to port, with the people handling business in those ports being her husbands.

 

[grimwell]

To answer the original quesiton, polygamy is not inherently abusive to women, but like any relationship, abuse could happen within the confines of such marriages.

As the American culture becomes more accepting of homosexual marriages (which are starting to become legal, and I think will eventually be legal in every state) we are having to redefine what "marriage" is and seperate it from our traditional Christian based perspective.

This will open the door for other marriages that are not common or Christian by necessity; which would include polygamy.

Personally, I'm not against marriage becoming a legal institution instead of a religious one. It should be, as even atheists can marry.

As a married man with a wife who will never accept another wife in the house I think I'll be happy with my Catholic approved marriage and nuclear family, but in truth I don't care what arrangements others have so long as every participant in the union is of age and is consenting...

On the gaming side of things I'm developing a non-Amazon stereotype culture that is dominated by females for one of the nations in the world I am building. It's kinda fun to play with "norms" of the real world and deliberately break them for fantasy. Makes the cultures much more tangible and "different" for players.

 

[Rashak Mani]

A Muslim can only marry more than one woman if he has the resources/wealth to do so. (Which in Utah hasnt been the case.) He is also restricted to 4 wives... overall pretty well structured and in theory pretty just. The wife can divorce and so forth. Dont think women normally can have many husbands thou.

Yes Rulers tend to have the privelege of multiple wives/concubines more often than their subjects do. In a fantasy world I would restrict polygamy to "nobility" / high classes. In a primitive society with a lot of wars and death this could be a means of rewarding the good warriors and to avoid population shortage.

On a side note when a muslim dies and goes to heaven he will have 55 virgins (or something like that) and a lot of wine to drink. Which does beat most other religions. If I were a beleiver I certainly would convert to Islam on my deathbed. Goes to show how "heaven" can be different for different cultures and values. Why shouldnt marriage too ?

 

[kingpaul]

He could not have been charged if that was the case. You can't charge someone for a crime that wasn't a crime at the time of the act.. err.. if that makes any sense.

I believe that falls under ex post facto in the Constitution...but IANAL.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Abusive?

The girl was 13. Odds are this is a hard core Mormon and he was given the girl to marry by her own father. She would have had no say in the matter at all.

Yes I think abusive is a very accurate term for it.

Abusive does seem a bit abusive, after all the women accept the situation too... though they may be getting at the point you don't get Women with multiple husbands (well not "legally" anyway) that I know of... but still a bit strong...

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Yes I think abusive is a very accurate term for it.

What is happening to the world?! I agree with DocM on something- noooo!

FD

 

[kingpaul]

The girl was 13. Odds are this is a hard core Mormon and he was given the girl to marry by her own father. She would have had no say in the matter at all.

Just to shed some more light on the subject, that wife did testify on her husband's behalf during the trial. It was one of the reasons he got 5-life, which was the lightest sentence permissable by law.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Unforunately we all have been shown time and time again that the rules of the situation and the reality of the situation live on opposite sides of the moon.

I seriously doubt you see many harem wives in Saudi Arabia getting divorces.

A Muslim can only marry more than one woman if he has the resources/wealth to do so. (Which in Utah hasnt been the case.) He is also restricted to 4 wives... overall pretty well structured and in theory pretty just. The wife can divorce and so forth. Dont think women normally can have many husbands thou.

Yes Rulers tend to have the privelege of multiple wives/concubines more often than their subjects do. In a fantasy world I would restrict polygamy to "nobility" / high classes. In a primitive society with a lot of wars and death this could be a means of rewarding the good warriors and to avoid population shortage.

On a side note when a muslim dies and goes to heaven he will have 55 virgins (or something like that) and a lot of wine to drink. Which does beat most other religions. If I were a beleiver I certainly would convert to Islam on my deathbed. Goes to show how "heaven" can be different for different cultures and values. Why shouldnt marriage too ?