Yet More Yahoo Answers on Polygamy

Robin Singhapreecha asked…

Why is polygamy wrong?
Why do you think polygamy is wrong/socially unacceptable?
Alternatively, why do you think it's not wrong?

Polygamy, it an of itself, is not wrong. Consenting adults should be able to marry each other, whether it is two, three, four, or more who want to marry. It can be one woman and three men, whether or not any of the men are sexual with each other. Same goes for one man and three women. Or it could be two men and two women, or many other variations. It isn’t anybody else’s business.

Like any other relationship type, you can find polygamous marriages where there are problems, but a relationship that is problematic does not mean that the relationship type is always wrong.

Rawr!...

I really don't care what people do as long as they are adults and are doing it of their own choice.

Thanks!

Jamie…

I wouldn't say it's "wrong". I think for the most part it isn't accepted in most communities because a lot of people are afraid of OR don't like what they aren't used to.

The more people see normal polygamous marriages the more people will drop their opposition to this freedom to marry.

Steven M…

The main reason it was abandoned long ago was inheritance issues. How is a patriotically society do you determine property ownership when multiple wives and children exist.

This can’t be a reason for the continued denial of the freedom to marry. With today’s restriction of monogamy-only for marriage, we see inheritance disputes all of the time. Widows and widowers who were married only once get in fights with their own children, who may fight with each other. Then, in some cases, there are children born outside of that marriage. There’s divorce and remarriage with or without stepchildren or making more children, there are people who were never married who have kids, there are childless people whose inheritances are disputed, on and on it goes. If anything, legalizing polygamy would make it easier to sort out inhereitance. There can be default rules in the law, and people can come up with their own documented, legal agreements.

Venshore…

If it is part of your religion it should be acceptable. But leave the children alone and let them marry who they want...not some old pedophile hiding behind religion

It is acceptable regardless of religion. But I agree about not having children married off.

"History"…

Polygamy has never been successful in a free democratic country.

I don’t know where people get an idea like that. What’s the criteria? There are people who are living as polygamists or polyamorists right now who strongly disagree with this claim. Is monogamy in the West successful today, given the divorce rate and the levels of unhappiness even when there has not been a divorce?

It has been tried by several communities back to the 1700s in the US, and they always fail in some critical way.

Who really thinks that a place and time when only landowning white males had rights and LGBT people had to be in the closet was a “free democratic country?” What would be the problem if you neighbor had more than one spouse? And if a bunch of like-minded people go off and form an isolated community together, and the town goes bust, then so what? Let them try.