Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Relationships
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,952,225 times
Reputation: 14935

Advertisements

First we had "Sister Wives." Now we have "My Five Wives." (FWIW, I'll never again be able to listen to David Bowie's "Modern Love" and not think of polygamy. )

Our culture has taken a softer stance against gay marriage. As recently as the late 1990s it was still considered incomprehensible that gay marriage would reach mainstream. Now it is not only becoming mainstream, but it almost seems like you're not allowed to oppose it anymore for any reason. If you do oppose it, keep your opinion to yourself or be branded a hate-mongerer.

I think then it is fair to wonder if other, shall we call them "non-traditional" marriage alignments, are not far from the mainstream as well. With shows like those above paving the way, our culture may be slowly normalizing to the idea of plural marriage. Right now, plural marriage is dismissed as something practiced only by a few whack-job extremists from cults. But I think change may be on the horizon.

For example, the Browns (of "Sister Wives") are presented as a highly functional family. If you watch the show, it is inevitable that you will begin to like Cody, all four of his wives, and their kids. They dress and look like normal people. This is significant because a lot of people think of girls dress like they're on the set of "Little House on the Prairie" when they think of polygamy. And while the cameras cannot possibly capture every emotional struggle, they do bring to light some critical thinking points that can lead viewers to ask themselves "what if?"

Furthermore, the network would not be introducing another polygamy show if there was not some sort of demand signal from the viewing public. This tells me curiosity is aroused. And with it, perhaps a spirit of acceptance toward polygamists is on the horizon?

What say you? I mentioned two reality TV shows as my basis for public interest in this topic. Perhaps someone here is aware of some other source or movement to propel this idea forward? For example, some Muslims practice polygamy and it existed in early Judaism as well. Perhaps we would see a "Preachers and bootleggers" sort of alliance in the coming years?

NOTE: This post is not a values judgment on the subject of gay marriage or polygamy. It is simply a question based on observation.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:36 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,689 posts, read 41,601,319 times
Reputation: 41323
Quite honestly I highly doubt it. Most of my super socially liberal millennial friends would not participate in a polygamous relationship. There is nothing in media other than the shows you cited that suggests to me that people are more willing to accept polygamy for their relationship choice.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:39 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,952,225 times
Reputation: 14935
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Dissenter View Post
Quite honestly I highly doubt it. Most of my super socially liberal millennial friends would not participate in a polygamous relationship. There is nothing in media other than the shows you cited that suggests to me that people are more willing to accept polygamy for their relationship choice.
Maybe not for theirs, but would they object to someone else pursuing it?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Middle America
37,409 posts, read 53,376,669 times
Reputation: 53067
I don't think that polygamy is coming anywhere close to even vaguely resembling mainstream acceptance.

A lot of reality TV shows' popularity indicate that people are entertained by watching things that bear no resemblance to the lives they lead or are familiar with themselves, or would aspire to.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Katonah, NY
21,192 posts, read 25,104,895 times
Reputation: 22274
No. Gay marriage is just marriage. In order to make polygamy legal - you would have to change a lot of legal things to make it work.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:40 PM
 
Location: Up above the world so high!
45,218 posts, read 100,447,195 times
Reputation: 40197
I don't think so my friend

I just think that television and media in general can make it appear as though a lot of things are more popular or prevalent than they really are.

What I do see changing is Americans views toward living more multi-generationally to help make finances and resources of time and energy work better for a family.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Middle America
37,409 posts, read 53,376,669 times
Reputation: 53067
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovesMountains View Post
What I do see changing is Americans views toward living more multi-generationally to help make finances and resources of time and energy work better for a family.
Do you see this a lot where you are? I don't, at least not currently, outside of several ethnic communities in my area, where multigenerational households have always been the standard. I'm very much a fan, but it doesn't seem to be a very common thing, where I am.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:44 PM
 
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
11,157 posts, read 13,952,225 times
Reputation: 14935
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dewdrop93 View Post
No. Gay marriage is just marriage. In order to make polygamy legal - you would have to change a lot of legal things to make it work.
But this has happened (or is happening) with gay marriage as well.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:44 PM
 
Location: New Jersey
12,322 posts, read 17,077,845 times
Reputation: 19556
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovesMountains View Post
I don't think so my friend

I just think that television and media in general can make it appear as though a lot of things are more popular or prevalent than they really are.

What I do see changing is Americans views toward living more multi-generationally to help make finances and resources of time and energy work better for a family.
I totally agree! The media has a strong influence on modern culture. And seeing is not always believing, Especially if on TV. Also Many things like this are flavor of the moment and other shows develop to cash in on the original success. How many shows about towing companies, Pawn shops and groups of partying 20 somethings and the like do you see? That's an example.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 03-04-2014, 03:46 PM
 
1,344 posts, read 4,753,609 times
Reputation: 1490
Amazing
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Relationships
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top