Polygamy

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• Polygamy

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Polygamy is illegal in the United States and in
European countries. However, it is legal --even
preferred-- in many countries and in numerous
local societies throughout the world. Why is
this the case? Why do some societies accept
polygamy and even consider it an ideal, while
others forbid it?
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• Polygamy occurs in two general forms polygyny
  and polyandry. Polygyny is far more common.
• Is there a rational explanation for the
  occurrence of polygamy vs. monogamy which would
  consistently explain
• Why polygamy occurs in some societies and
  monogamy in others
• Why some polygamous societies practice polygyny,
  while others practice polyandry
• Why some societies have changed their form of
  marriage --i.e., why societies that previously
  practiced polygamy have switched to monogamy (and
  vice versa), and why societies that practiced
  polygyny would change to polyandry (and vice
  versa)?

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• Many national governments, particularly in
  Africa, have attempted to outlaw polygamy.
  Christian missionary activities have also largely
  attempted to eradicate the practice. Have they
  been successful? If so, why if not why not?
• Moreover, if there has been a decline in polygamy
  in Africa and elsewhere, is it because of
  government policy and missionary activity, or
  might it have occurred for other reasons?

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Many feminists view polygamy as the exploitation
of women and the subordination of women to the
dominance and sexual gratification of men. How
well does this perspective describe the examples
of polygamy you have read?

• How does it reflect the actual interaction of men
  and women in polygamous households?
• Is sex the reason for practicing polygamy?
• How well does such a feminist perspective account
  for the practice of polyandry in Tibet, or
  polygyny among matrilocal and matrilineal Native
  American peoples, such as the Cheyenne?
• Is there a simpler, more effective explanation
  for the practice of polygamy in its various forms
  than that provided by feminists? How does this
  relate to the principle of Occam's Razor?

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Marital structure    Is it possible to generate a
logically consistent etic explanation for why
different forms of marriage are commonly
practiced in various societies?    Consider the
following questions  

• Under what conditions is polygyny more likely to
  be practiced?
• 2. Under what conditions is polyandry more likely
  to be practiced?
• 3. Under what conditions is monogamy more likely
  to be practiced?
• 4. Under what conditions is single-parenthood
  more likely to be practiced?
•  
•  
• 5. What are the costs vs. benefits of having
  children in foraging societies?
• 6. What are the costs vs. benefits of having
  children in subsistence based
• horticultural and agricultural societies?
• 7. What are the costs vs. benefits of having
  children in urban industrial
• societies?
• 8. What are the costs vs. benefits of having
  children in post-industrial
• (hyperindustrial) societies?

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• Polygamy is particularly associated with intense
  agricultural societies where large families
  represent prosperity and future survival. These
  are also the societies in which prospective
  husbands are valued in terms of their potential
  ability to oversee large prosperous families
  while future wives are valued largely in terms of
  their fecundity and nurturing qualities. We see a
  dramatic shift in the ideal characteristics
  associated with potential mates with the
  evolution of industrial and post-industrial
  societies.

• Why is this the case? How does this fit the
  principle of Infrastructural Determinism?

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There has been a resurgence of polygamy in many
parts of the world, including the United States.
Polygamy was previously practiced by Mormons in
the U.S. until it was outlawed by the United
States Government and officially rejected by the
Mormon Church during the late nineteenth century.
However, there are several flourishing
polygamous communities in the U.S. today, and
their number is growing.

• Why has this occurred?
• Why would some people favor it, and why would
  others oppose it?
• Many of those who oppose the practice of polygamy
  in the U.S. are the very same people who support
  gay and lesbian marriages?
• Is it logically consistent to support gay and
  lesbian marriages, but to oppose polygamous
  unions? Does it make anthropological sense that
  one should be seen as good and the other as bad?

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The Church of Latter Day Saints
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The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City
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Mormon Temple Salt Lake City
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Little Colorado River Basin
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Mormon Polygamists 1885
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Modern Mormon Polygamous Families
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Arizona
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The Arizona Strip
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Colorado City Arizona
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Communal Farm
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Polygamous Home
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Polygamous Home
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Not a Bad Beer!
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• Polygamy is not limited to the human species. It
  is widespread among animal populations. Moreover,
  both forms of polygamy --polygyny and polyandry--
  are practiced by other animals.
• Why do these different mating systems occur in
  other species?
• Are the reasons similar to why they occur among
  different human populations?
• What can we learn from studying non-human
  polygamy about why polygamy occurs among humans?
  
• Might we develop a rational explanation for the
  practice of polygamy vs. monogamy --as well as
  for the practice of polygyny vs. polyandry-- that
  applies equally to human and non-human
  populations? Wouldnt such an approach be favored
  by Occams Razor?
• If we can determine that similar theoretical
  explanations account for the variation in both
  human and non-human mating systems, then what
  does this say about claims regarding the moral
  superiority of monogamy over polygamy?

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