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Sam Zywna
Research Paper
December 20, 2018

Polygamy

Polygamy is a marriage in which a spouse of any sex may have more than one mate at the

same time (“Polygamy” Merriam-Webster). It has been a part of human nature for far longer

than monogamy has been the socially accepted view of love and marriage. In fact, monogamy

has only become mainstream in the past 10,000 years of human development (Burton). Presently,

when most people think of polygamy, they picture an unhealthy polygynous relationship filled

with abuse and jealousy. However, there are many different forms of polygamy besides one

dominate male figure with multiple wives, otherwise known as polygyny. Polyandry occurs

when a woman takes on more than one husband and polyamory is the practice of both parties

partaking in multiple relationships at a time (“Polyamory”). Much controversy has arisen over

the acceptance and legality of the open practice of polygamy. Most opposers argue that

polygamy is detrimental to society and encourages unhealthy relationships, while polygamists

insist it is their constitutional right to have the freedom to love however many people they

please.

The practice of polygamy is illegal in the majority of globe except for parts of Africa, Commented [1]: the globe

Asia, and Middle Eastern countries (Brown). Most commonly, these countries permit

polygamous lifestyles because they have large Muslim populations (Burton). Religion plays a

large role in the argument of polygamy. Each religion has a different opinion on the acceptance

and practice of polygamist lifestyles. Muslim societies are often seen engaging in polygamy.

Although, polyandry is accepted in the religion, most relationships are polygynist (Burton). The

man can take up to four wives as long as he has the ability and means to treat them all equally

(Burton). Polygyny in muslim cultures, is a sign of wealth and power. Having multiple wives

shows that the husband has a substantial income to support all of his partners. Engaging in
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polygyny can only occur from the consent of both partners. The wife can prevent her husband

from taking a second wife (Burton). Even so, most women cannot exercise this privilege because

of arranged marriage and brideprice epidemics. Arranged marriage is especially common in

muslim cultures as women are being married off younger because of a lack of older women

(Copeland). In exchange for a wife the husband with offer a brideprice or valuable compensation

to the family of the bride in return for marriage. Because of this brideprice that supports the Commented [2]: Due to

bride’s family, the wife is often forced into a polygynous relationship in fear that the husband

will retract the financial stability to her family.

One of the most common misconceptions about polygamy is in association with The

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or Mormon. The Mormon church has prohibited

polygyny for over a century. While the community did accept it through the proposal made by

the original church founder, Joseph Smith, in 1831, it was later rejected by a manifesto that

stopped the practice of plural marriage written by the later president, Wilford Woodruff

(“Polygamy”). Today, no person can practice plural marriage and remain a member of the church

(“Polygamy”). Utah has a high population of polygamists. The present-day polygamists in Utah

are not affiliated with the Latter-Day Saints, rather, are denominations of the Mormon church.

The Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) are the most extreme sect of Mormon that

continue to practice polygyny. A former leader was recorded having approximately twenty wives

and upwards to eighty children (Johnson). The members of this group were isolated and deprived

of society. Although the FLDS are a small denomination of the religion, the entirety of the

Mormon church is wrongly seen as holding the same values by the rest of the world. Polygamy

obtains a misconception due to the FLDS. The Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints participated in

unhealthy polygynous relationships. Polygamy, despite including polygyny, includes many

different types of plural relationships that are consensual and beneficial to all parties involved. It
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is because of some of these stereotypes and misconceptions, that the legalization of polygamy is

so controversial.

A major argument against polygamy is that it leads to social problems. A study at the

University of British Columbia shows that society can suffer in result of polygyny (Copeland). Commented [3]: as a result

Wealthy and powerful men obtain the most wives because they can financially support a larger

family with multiple wives and many children. Lower-class men struggle to find a wife not

already married to a wealthy man. As a result, young, unmarried men turn to crime such as rape,

theft, murder, and abuse of alcohol or drugs (Copeland). Children born into polygynous

relationships lack attention and investment from the father as he cannot give enough care to all of

his families equally. According to a Slate Magazine article, “...children of monogamous

relationships perform better than those born into polygamy.” Anti-polygamists argue that a

group’s right to love should be compromised when it shows threats to society as a whole.

Modern day polygamy is considered to be much more inclusive and healthy for people

than the stereotypical idea of plural marriages. Polygyny accounts only for a small percentage of

polygamists as a whole. In fact, Polyamory is the leading form of polygamy today, allowing both

men and women to engage in multiple relationships. Polyamorists say that engaging in more than

one relationship creates, “healthy and functional relationships that they could not have managed

otherwise (Anapol).” Those within the polyamorist community do not believe in restricting

themselves to loving just one person and cherish specific qualities of each different partner. Most

polyamorous relationships involve a primary partner that the two can share a house or family

with, but can turn to a secondary partner in stagnant times for a refreshing introduction of new

ideas and personalities. In doing this, most people find that they gain more appreciation for their

significant others in that, when they return, they can rekindle their love for one another feeling

more content with their partner than when they left. Polyamorous people experience more self-

reflection and intense personal growth throughout the process of multiple relationships (Anapol).
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It allows individuals to feel self love and confidence in their decisions by not being restricted by

some of the rules of a monogamy. Engaging in multiple relationships encourages healthy

communication and trust between partners. In most cases, polyamorous partners experience less

jealousy because having another relationship is accepted and honestly communicated rather than

strictly forbidden or hidden. Polyamorists are confident in their love enough to trust their partner

to partake in a new relationship without becoming replaced or jeopardizing the original

attachment to each other.

Polygamists and those who support their choices argue to make it legal to marry more

than one person in America. Many believe plural couples deserve the same rights to love,

fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family that monogamous and now gay couples are granted in the

United States (Deboer). The legalization of gay marriage endured almost identical criticisms to

those now made against polygamy. A majority of the opposers accept the right of consenting

adults to engage in any relationships they chose, but disagree with granting legal recognition for

those relationships (Deboer). However, if history repeats itself, the U.S. could be seeing an

addition to marriage acceptance in the near future. Polygamy was once legal in the state of Utah

under the protection of the supreme court case, Brown v. Buhman in 2013 (“Brown v.

Buhman”). This court case ruled it unconstitutional to prohibit plural marriage in violation of the

first amendment under freedom of religion (“Brown v. Buhman”). The ruling was later retracted

when the Mormon church ceased continued practice of multiple marriages. The court system has

shown signs of hope for the polygamist community through the legalization of gay marriage and

the brief legalization of polygamy for Mormons in Utah.

Polygamy has been a concept for thousands of years. There is clear evidence in the Bible

demonstrating polygamist relationships with disciples (Burton). It has been only recently that the

legitimacy of polygamy has become threatened. However, with an increasingly accepting society

of “untraditional” marriages, such as those within the LGBTQ+ community, the eventual
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adoption of polygamy into national law is not far from reach. However, polygamy still maintains

major threats to society and to those involved in the relationship that have not been resolved.

Crime rate has the potential to skyrocket in conjunction with the legalization of polygamy along

with drug and alcohol abuse. Domestic abuse and toxic relationships have no way of being

monitored and are highly more probable in polygamist partnerships. That being said, the

constitution was made to protect the rights of the people, including the pursuit of happiness.

Whether having free choice to love is considered a pursuit of happiness will continue to be a

debate for years to come.

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Works Cited

Anapol, Deborah. “Why Do People Choose Polyamory?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers,
2010, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/love-without-limits/201008/why-do-people-
choose-polyamory.

Brown, Jessica. “All the Countries Where Polygamy Is Legal.” indy100, indy100, 9 Mar. 2017,
www.indy100.com/article/polygamy-around-the-world-map-reddit-7621171.

“Brown v. Buhman.” LexisNexis® Academic & Library Solutions,

www.lexisnexis.com/lawschool/resources/p/casebrief-brown-v-buhman.aspx.

Burton, Neel. “The Pros and Cons of Polygamy.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 4 Jan.
2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201801/the-pros-and-cons-
polygamy.

Copeland, Libby. “Is Polygamy Really So Awful?” Slate Magazine, Slate, 30 Jan. 2012,
slate.com/human-interest/2012/01/the-problem-with-polygamy.html.

Deboer, Fredrik, et al. “It's Time to Legalize Polygamy.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 26 June 2015,
www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/gay-marriage-decision-polygamy-119469.

Dodgson, Lindsay. “7 Things People with Multiple Partners Want You to Know about What It's
Really Like.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 5 Nov. 2018,
www.businessinsider.com/things-polyamorous-people-want-you-to-know-about-what-its-
really-like-to-have-multiple-partners-2017-12.

Johnson, Krista. “This Son of Prophet Warren Jeffs Has 54 Brothers and Sisters. Yet the
Former FLDS Church Member Felt Alone.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information
Network, 8 Apr. 2018, www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/08/mormon-
fundamentalist-yfz-ranch-raid/492767002/.

“Polyamory.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/polyamory.

“Polygamy.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/polygamy.

“Polygamy.” Www.mormonnewsroom.org, www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/polygamy.

Labeling Key
verb form
verb tense
strong word choice
poor word choice
spelling error
awkward phrasing
capitalize word
lower case - do not capitalize
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Provide an example to support your point

sentence fragment
run-on sentence
repetitive
Punctuation error
_

Label Name Extracted Text

_ polygynous

with

polygynous

with