Discussion On Whether Polygamy Is A Viable Alternative Lifestyle Compared To Monogamous Relationship
The practice of polygamy has endangered women and children for years. Neglect and unfair treatment is a large issue within polygamous communities and relationships. According to Fay Voshell, in a plural marriage revokes a woman’s rights and can even become dangerous. Voshell explains that polygamy is degrading to women. Women are reduced to a sex object instead of as an equal to their male partner. She also states how due to numerous women and children in the household, fair treatment is unlikely. Polygamous relationships can easily subject young girls and even young boys to sexual acts by manipulation. As a result of the man having so much power and control, he is capable of subjecting children to his dominance. Voshell says that, in conclusion, polygamy is something people should be fighting against. If not for women, for the children.
In an interview between Carolyn Jessop, a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FDLS), and Luiza Savage, Jessop speaks of the different types of abuse women and children have to endure. She explains that she was born into the cult; when she turned eighteen, she was forced to marry a fifty-year-old man whom she had never met. Jessop tells Savage how her husband chose a woman to build a relationship with and neglected the remaining wives. She said that the marriage is not about love, but reproduction. She speaks of cruel violence used towards children in order to sustain dominance. She says the “concept is that you have to break a child’s will before the age of two. ” Water torture would be used to do this in majority of the cases. A baby’s face would be ran underneath cold water for thirty seconds. Then, to break the child of crying, they would be spanked until silenced. Jessop eventually left the cult. According to Pete Vere polygamy is harmful to a child’s development.
Rena and Kathleen Mackert are sisters who also underwent mental and sexual abuse after being born into FLDS. Rena recalls how she attempted suicide at the tender age of six years old due to years of sexual assault she had already endured. Still late into her adulthood, compliments from men trigger memories of her assaulter. The Mackert sisters were both forced to marry their previous step-brothers. Five years into a “loveless marriage,” Rena and her three children were abandoned by her husband. After she refused to remarry, the cult leaders took away her children and exiled her from the community. She was eventually able to retrieve her children with the help of a lawyer whom she had met through work. Children that are taken out of these communities grow to be alcoholics or drug addicts due to the lack of counseling and support. With these types of burdens on their minds, plus lack of communication and work skills, many people that have removed themselves from these cults end up committing suicide.
Despite all these negatives to polygamy, Christina Schimmel has spoken to a woman going by the name of Lara to protect her privacy. This woman and her husband, Tony, have added another woman, Lauren, into their relationship. Both Lara and Lauren were unaware of Tony’s infidelity. While Lauren herself is polyamorous, Lara has had a hard time coping with jealousy. Although, she has said that her newly found polygamous relationship has allowed her to be more open-minded and aware of people around her.
Polygamy has its pros and cons, as does everything. Considering all factors, polygamy is not a viable alternative lifestyle. Yes, it can allow an individual to become more open-minded and patient. However, the various types of abuse and consequence that come from a plural marriage are not worth the risk.
