I have the warm fuzzies for the Sister Wives
Sister Wives is an American reality TV program about a Mormon* polygamist family consisting of 1 husband, 4 wives, and a whole passel of children. I don't watch it regularly, but I've caught an episode here and there.
I do have some issues with polygamy because (A) of the whole rationalization behind it (the men can't handle monogamy, need more than one woman, and need polygamy to avoid adultery), (B) cultures/religions that condone polygyny (multiple wives) are usually against polyandry (multiple husbands), and I'm a "What's good for the gander is good for the goose" kind of person, and (C) polygamy is generally religiously justified, and you all know my issues with "God made me do it" justifications.
However, the Brown family of Sister Wives does get points from me because they are not part of the creepy Fundamentalist LDS group that's become infamous for arranged marriages between men and little girls and for treating women and children as chattel of the men. All four of Kody Brown's wives chose to marry him when they were adults, and they are raising both their daughters and their sons as equals.
But here's why I have the warm fuzzies for the family right now: I just saw part of an episode in which the five adults in the family answered questions sent in by viewers. One woman asked, "What would you do if one of your children came out [as gay]?" I expected the same answer you'd get from most members of the LDS church, that homosexuality was wrong, that they'd pray for their children to "see the light", etc.
Instead, they rose to the challenge and gave an answer I'd be glad to hear from any parents. After saying that they'd thought about this because with the large number of children they had, chances were that at least one or two could be gay, one of the moms answered that she'd worry about the child because the amount of homophobia in society, but that the child would get nothing but love and acceptance within the family. She made it clear that she spoke for all of them, and they tacitly agreed. Another mom said, "One of my daughters did ask me a hypothetical, 'How would you react if I brought home a girlfriend?' and I told her that since the current rule of the house was no boys in your room, if you were a lesbian, the rule would also be no girlfriends in your room." Another added that if her daughter were in a serious relationship with someone, "She'd better bring her home to meet me!"
PS- While we're on the subject of polygamy, you might enjoy this National Geographic documentary about a polygamist group in British Columbia, Inside Polygamy: Life in Bountiful.
*I'm using the label "Mormon" rather than LDS because as polygamists, the Brown family are not part of the official LDS church.
I do have some issues with polygamy because (A) of the whole rationalization behind it (the men can't handle monogamy, need more than one woman, and need polygamy to avoid adultery), (B) cultures/religions that condone polygyny (multiple wives) are usually against polyandry (multiple husbands), and I'm a "What's good for the gander is good for the goose" kind of person, and (C) polygamy is generally religiously justified, and you all know my issues with "God made me do it" justifications.
However, the Brown family of Sister Wives does get points from me because they are not part of the creepy Fundamentalist LDS group that's become infamous for arranged marriages between men and little girls and for treating women and children as chattel of the men. All four of Kody Brown's wives chose to marry him when they were adults, and they are raising both their daughters and their sons as equals.
But here's why I have the warm fuzzies for the family right now: I just saw part of an episode in which the five adults in the family answered questions sent in by viewers. One woman asked, "What would you do if one of your children came out [as gay]?" I expected the same answer you'd get from most members of the LDS church, that homosexuality was wrong, that they'd pray for their children to "see the light", etc.
Instead, they rose to the challenge and gave an answer I'd be glad to hear from any parents. After saying that they'd thought about this because with the large number of children they had, chances were that at least one or two could be gay, one of the moms answered that she'd worry about the child because the amount of homophobia in society, but that the child would get nothing but love and acceptance within the family. She made it clear that she spoke for all of them, and they tacitly agreed. Another mom said, "One of my daughters did ask me a hypothetical, 'How would you react if I brought home a girlfriend?' and I told her that since the current rule of the house was no boys in your room, if you were a lesbian, the rule would also be no girlfriends in your room." Another added that if her daughter were in a serious relationship with someone, "She'd better bring her home to meet me!"
PS- While we're on the subject of polygamy, you might enjoy this National Geographic documentary about a polygamist group in British Columbia, Inside Polygamy: Life in Bountiful.
*I'm using the label "Mormon" rather than LDS because as polygamists, the Brown family are not part of the official LDS church.