Sister Wives: What's the Big Fucking Deal? I Issue a Challenge to those against polygamy:

Sister Wives: What's the Big Fucking Deal?

So there's this show on TLC called Sister Wives, which I was not aware of until about 10 minutes ago. For those who do not know, it is a 'reality' show documenting/fictionalizing (you know how 'reality' shows go....) the lives of 5 adults and 13 children. The 5 adults are a man named Kody, and his four wives, and the thirteen children are, well, their children.

Yes, the show is about polygamists. How this is possible when polygamy is illegal in the U.S., I don't know, but it's happening (happened?) (not sure if it's still on or not). The guy is married to four women and the four marriages have thus far produced 13 children.

Here's a short overview of the show:



So, what's this blog entry about? Is this a show review? No. I haven't even seen it. I've only just now watched a couple of small clips on YouTube. Is it to try and ascertain how it is possible that TLC has a show featuring what are ostensibly out in the open criminals? No, although I will be looking into how this is possible once I am done writing this post.

Is this entry about how disgusting, immoral, unethical, blah blah blah the arrangement is, as almost every single YT commenter said? No. In fact, I disagree with them entirely, and I am here to talk about how polygamy is not only NOT immoral, and should never have been made illegal in the first place, let alone been upheld as illegal all the way to 2010, and beyond, but how stupid I think the opposition to it is (even though I myself may not wish to live in this way).

Before I begin, I do want to say that if the wives themselves are not 'allowed' to have multiple husbands, then I think that there is definitely a problem there, and I would be against such a hypocritical stance on the part of those involved. However, if this were true, and it does seem to me that polygamists are always 1 male with multiple females, I think I can actually explain why it makes sense, and this is exactly in line with my explanation of just why polygamy is not bad/immoral/disgusting/etc (and should not be considered criminal).

The crux of my argument is this: Such an arrangement aligns itself with our biology quite well, and it is the best and most viable way to ensure survival and the propagation of genetic information (in evolutionary terms).

As I commented on the above YouTube video:

“It's funny how this causes such outrage and disgust, when really, it actually aligns itself with our biology quite well, and in terms of evolution, is the best model for survival.....well, of course, the advantages afforded us by our modern environment(s) no longer necessitate this, but speaking of at least our origins, this is exactly what we would have seen, and what would have been beneficial. Remember, the natural infant/mother mortality rate is >50%. Only through intervention is it low.”

Now, I'm not saying that because our biology gives us the natural propensity for such behaviour, it automatically means that we should act that way. Such a proclamation would be subject to the philosophical dilemma known as the “is-ought” problem, and it basically states that an is (example: our natural tendency is to do X) cannot be automatically asserted as an ought (therefore we ought to do X) and any attempts to do so needs to be justified. And of course, that justification will inevitably entail filling the gap between the is and ought with all sorts of information that is not present when you simply have an is. This is a fundamental problem in philosophical thought, and I recognize it as such (even though I fall prey to it from time to time....but not today lol).

What I am saying, however, is that, while I don't think this particular is (if I am indeed correct in asserting that it is the most congruent with our biology out of the various sexual behaviours) is also an ought (especially now that, as I said in the YouTube comment, we have environments that no longer necessitate such measures taken to insure the propagation of both our genes, and the species in general) I am comfortable in saying that it would have been the best method of species survival when you had infant and maternal mortality rates that were >50%. This is of course, speaking in evolutionary terms. Not everyone in real life is concerned with gene propagation (I'm not). Evolutionarily speaking, our number one biological goal is reproduction, and from that perspective, this arrangement would be ideal, especially given the pre-human intervention mortality rates.

To say that such an arrangement is wrong, immoral, disgusting, criminal, etc is to vilify the very fucking practise that ensured our survival in the first fucking place!!!

It's fucking ridiculous.

In addition to that, really what we have is a classic case of xenophobia and cultural relativism. It's different than the 'traditional' (lol, my ass, but I digress) system engrained in us since early childhood, and since 'I' would not want to live like that, and it's different to my experience, it's terrible and will destroy society!! All it is is fear, unfamiliarity, the inability to see past one's own preferences, and emotional reactionism.

Another element to this is the idea of consent, and adults acting of their own volition. Who the fuck are you/we to tell grown ass adults not only who they can marry (gay marriage) but how many people they can marry? If they are of age, and able to consent to it, and are not harming anyone, then on what justification can you determine that they should not be allowed to do so? I know, I know....the children. Oh, the children! Why won't anyone think of the children! Do me a favour: Prove that children raised in a culture where polygamy is considered the norm (or at least one of the norms) are at all harmed by such an arrangement. Note, the caveat about culture. One thing moronic morons seem to miss when discussing things like this is that much of the 'harm' to children, if it occurs at all, is there because of the culture they were raised in and the reactions of the adults around them. For example, people, when talking about gay marriage, will often say “what about the harm to the children?”

THE ONLY HARM DONE IS A RESULT OF XENOPHOBIA AND BIGOTRY, NOT THE SITUATION ITSELF!!

Just like people's hangups about nudity. If a 7 year old sees a vagina, penis, or some tits, they parents will freak out, and it becomes this big issue. If, however, they didn't act like morons, they'd realize that the act of seeing another human body......DOES NO HARM WHATSOEVER! It's YOU and your REACTIONARY PARANOIA THAT CAUSES THE 'HARM' YOU THINK YOU SEE.

Now, if there was some legitimate scientific evidence pointing to harm done to children in polygamous familial situations, and this data was not biased by culture, then I'd be on board with the idea. However, I strongly doubt this would ever happen, because I think kids can adapt to any familial structure, as long as the people in said family handle things appropriately. Ever notice how some kids who grow up in a single parent home do just fine? Yet the prevailing idea was, and in some places still is, that kids “need a mom and a dad at home.” The kids that don't do as well? Is it really the single parent situation, or is it a messy divorce, incompetent parents who drag the kids into it, and carry with them baggage for the rest of their life, dumping it on their kid?

There's a difference between wanting something for yourself, and decreeing it to be wrong for everybody and then blocking anyone from doing it in their own lives.

Do I want any more wives? Hell no! One is more than enough! But if 5 consenting adults want to do it, who am I to stop them?

I would like to issue a challenge of sorts: To anyone who may read this that had/would have the same reaction to the above clip that the majority of the YouTube commenters did, could you state your reasons why? Calm down, don't just make bald assertions.....back them up. Do you have any legitimate reason to have the reaction you do, or is it just cultural bias, unproven assumptions, and xenophobia? Can you actually put forth a coherent case that will demonstrate to me that polygamy is indeed immoral/wrong or whatever, and should be illegal? Honestly.....I doubt it, but I'd be the first to admit if someone proved me wrong.