Polygamy In Australia Today
QUESTION 10 “Would polygamy work in Australia today? Use cross-cultural comparisons to support your argument, pay attention to the advantages and disadvantages of this form of marriage.”
In this essay I will argue the point that polygamy will not work in the Australian society in which we live today. ‘Polygamy is not merely an exotic habit of a few faraway people. A wide range of very different societies allow a man to be married to more that one wife simultaneously and is even today a viable form of marriage in large parts of the world’. (Bretschneider 1995 p.11) I will support my argument based on the reasons some of these cultures practice polygamy and why in Australia there is no need for this type of marriage. There are many theories to explain the development of polygamy within cultures, I will examine several of these reasons and compare them to the Australian society of today. …show more content…
Firstly I will look at an example of a hunter gather society such as the !Kung Tribe in Africa.
In the !Kung society many men would like a polygamous marriage but only 5% have one. The benefits to these men are obvious. He gains a new sexual partner, and he is likely to have more children and has a substantial new provider of food to his family. In the !Kung society most woman do not want to become involved in such a marriage, they claim that sexual jealously, rivalry, favouritism and disputes over chores make a polygamous life quite a difficult one. Even the men find a polygamous marriage difficult to manage and are constantly trying to keep an equal balance to prevent jealousy. (Shostak
1981)
If this is compared to Australian society today, then yes the male has the advantage of more than one sexual partner but as with the !Kung it becomes a difficult marriage to manage. ‘The !Kung society is one based on equality between the sexes.’ (Shostak 1981 p.237) Australians could learn a great deal from the !Kung when it comes to equality between the sexes, but even so if they have difficulty managing a polygamous marriage what hope do Australian’s have. The second benefit is more children. In the !Kung society this seems to be a good option, more children results in greater status within the community and adds to family wealth. For the vast majority of Australians the more children you have the greater the economic burden, as they do not usually contribute to the household income until late teens. There is no need for a man to have multiple wives to increase his wealth through the family’s ability to hunt or cultivate more effectively. In Australia today most agricultural work is done by machine thus replacing the need for many wives to help on the land. As for hunting well it only takes one person to shop at the local Woolworths.
Another culture to look at is the Muslim society in Pakistan, unlike Australian culture or the !Kung, women in this Muslim society assume a subservient role. It is seen as strictly domestic. (Malik 2006) According to the Koran Muslim men are allowed to marry up to four women but must treat each one equally or else they will be judged harshly in the afterlife. Usually in this society only the wealthy have polygamous marriages since the woman do not work and therefore do not contribute to the family income. The advantages to the men are both sexual and status driven. For the woman they gain a provider and have co-wives as companions. There is little to compare with Pakistan and Australia. The two cultures are so far apart from one another on this subject. This type of polygamous marriage could never work in Australia since Australian society promotes female independence and choice.
A final comparison can be made with the Mormon religion based in the United States of America. ‘Even though the practice of polygamy was outlawed in Utah in 1896 it has grown so that anywhere from 20,000-60,000 people living in families where one man is married to 2, 3, 5 and as many as 30 woman.’ (Haviland et al. p.161) No one has been prosecuted for polygamy in Utah for over 50 years. Yet the Mormon Church condemns polygamy among the fundamentalist fractions excommunicated for their practice. (Kilbride 1994) The Mormons religious belief of polygamy is based on the Book of Mormon Section 132, where God tells the prophet Joseph Smith that he can marry as many women as he wants. And thereby ensure a marriage that would last throughout eternity. (Haviland et al. p.163) Mary Potter who was once one of three wives and formed a group in support of plural marriages stated, “In polygamy men are properly channelled.” (Haviland et al. p. 164) Emilie Allen an Ethnographer from the University of Nevada pointed out that Mormon women are not permitted to be priests, the only way they may achieve membership with God in the next life is through marriage that links them together with a man. She also noted that in the Mormon household income is pooled together from all able to contribute and childcare and household duties are shared by all of the co-wives. (Kilbride 1994) Polygamy for religious reasons would not be tolerated in Australia, firstly as it is illegal and secondly it is not an accepted part of the Australian way of life and would be viewed as immoral. I found it rather interesting that as this essay was being researched, over 400 children where removed from a polygamist compound in West Texas to determine if some were born to underage mothers. The Sunday times headline read as follows ‘DNA check on 400, Custody order on kids in cult’. (Sunday Times 20 April 2008. p.36) Another news headline on the Internet read ‘over 400 children taken from Texas polygamist ranch.’ (Stoddard et al, 2008) These headlines neglect to mention that the group referred to are Mormon’s. This acts to reinforce the information set or traditional values at the present time in Australia that look at polygamy as abnormal, sinful and even criminal The many advocates of “family values” find the idea that love respect and caring must be acted out only or primarily in a nuclear family (Kilbride 1994). Yet things that where once deviant can become moral. For example same sex marriages are presently viewed as socially deviant whereas single parent families are moving towards a moral or proper status. (Kilbride 1994) The growing multi-culturalism in Australia will bring with it cultures who value and practice polygamy. As stated earlier in this essay, at the present time there is no need for polygamous marriages.
In conclusion the hypotheses put forward in Bretschneider’s book do not apply to modern Australian society. Polygamy is a multidimensional phenomenon; it was found that bridal wealth payments, high dependencies on fishing or plough agricultures and war for plunder to be strongly related to polygamy. (Bretschneider 1995) If we take these factors into account and compare them with Australian society then it is quite clear to see that polygamy would not work in Australia. In Australia marriage payments are becoming a joint venture paid by both families. Australians are not hunter-gatherers and with the advent of modern farming one machine can do he work of 20 or more people. Also there is no ongoing warfare or a need to take woman as captives.
This essay looked at some of the reasons other cultures practice polygamy and gave reasons why Australia has no need to practice polygamy. The question is not about “would polygamy work in Australia today.” The question should be is there a need for polygamy in Australia today. If there were a need like in the other cultures I have described then the answer would be yes. The Australia of today is not a society of Hunter Gatherers, or Horticulturalists. Australia is a country that has many diverse religious groups, but those involving polygamy are illegal. The Australian notion of the traditional family with a dad who works, a mum who stays at home with the children has changed dramatically in the last 60 years. Australia now has a large number of single parent families, couples living together in defacto relationships and same sex relationships. With the growing economic pressure on families there may be a need in the future for the one family living under one roof to change, but I do not see it becoming a polygamous marriage arrangement since in the present society a man having more that one wife would be unacceptable by the vast majority of Australians.
Word Count: 1412
In this essay I will argue the point that polygamy will not work in the Australian society in which we live today. ‘Polygamy is not merely an exotic habit of a few faraway people. A wide range of very different societies allow a man to be married to more that one wife simultaneously and is even today a viable form of marriage in large parts of the world’. (Bretschneider 1995 p.11) I will support my argument based on the reasons some of these cultures practice polygamy and why in Australia there is no need for this type of marriage. There are many theories to explain the development of polygamy within cultures, I will examine several of these reasons and compare them to the Australian society of today. …show more content…
Firstly I will look at an example of a hunter gather society such as the !Kung Tribe in Africa.
In the !Kung society many men would like a polygamous marriage but only 5% have one. The benefits to these men are obvious. He gains a new sexual partner, and he is likely to have more children and has a substantial new provider of food to his family. In the !Kung society most woman do not want to become involved in such a marriage, they claim that sexual jealously, rivalry, favouritism and disputes over chores make a polygamous life quite a difficult one. Even the men find a polygamous marriage difficult to manage and are constantly trying to keep an equal balance to prevent jealousy. (Shostak
1981)
If this is compared to Australian society today, then yes the male has the advantage of more than one sexual partner but as with the !Kung it becomes a difficult marriage to manage. ‘The !Kung society is one based on equality between the sexes.’ (Shostak 1981 p.237) Australians could learn a great deal from the !Kung when it comes to equality between the sexes, but even so if they have difficulty managing a polygamous marriage what hope do Australian’s have. The second benefit is more children. In the !Kung society this seems to be a good option, more children results in greater status within the community and adds to family wealth. For the vast majority of Australians the more children you have the greater the economic burden, as they do not usually contribute to the household income until late teens. There is no need for a man to have multiple wives to increase his wealth through the family’s ability to hunt or cultivate more effectively. In Australia today most agricultural work is done by machine thus replacing the need for many wives to help on the land. As for hunting well it only takes one person to shop at the local Woolworths.
Another culture to look at is the Muslim society in Pakistan, unlike Australian culture or the !Kung, women in this Muslim society assume a subservient role. It is seen as strictly domestic. (Malik 2006) According to the Koran Muslim men are allowed to marry up to four women but must treat each one equally or else they will be judged harshly in the afterlife. Usually in this society only the wealthy have polygamous marriages since the woman do not work and therefore do not contribute to the family income. The advantages to the men are both sexual and status driven. For the woman they gain a provider and have co-wives as companions. There is little to compare with Pakistan and Australia. The two cultures are so far apart from one another on this subject. This type of polygamous marriage could never work in Australia since Australian society promotes female independence and choice.
A final comparison can be made with the Mormon religion based in the United States of America. ‘Even though the practice of polygamy was outlawed in Utah in 1896 it has grown so that anywhere from 20,000-60,000 people living in families where one man is married to 2, 3, 5 and as many as 30 woman.’ (Haviland et al. p.161) No one has been prosecuted for polygamy in Utah for over 50 years. Yet the Mormon Church condemns polygamy among the fundamentalist fractions excommunicated for their practice. (Kilbride 1994) The Mormons religious belief of polygamy is based on the Book of Mormon Section 132, where God tells the prophet Joseph Smith that he can marry as many women as he wants. And thereby ensure a marriage that would last throughout eternity. (Haviland et al. p.163) Mary Potter who was once one of three wives and formed a group in support of plural marriages stated, “In polygamy men are properly channelled.” (Haviland et al. p. 164) Emilie Allen an Ethnographer from the University of Nevada pointed out that Mormon women are not permitted to be priests, the only way they may achieve membership with God in the next life is through marriage that links them together with a man. She also noted that in the Mormon household income is pooled together from all able to contribute and childcare and household duties are shared by all of the co-wives. (Kilbride 1994) Polygamy for religious reasons would not be tolerated in Australia, firstly as it is illegal and secondly it is not an accepted part of the Australian way of life and would be viewed as immoral. I found it rather interesting that as this essay was being researched, over 400 children where removed from a polygamist compound in West Texas to determine if some were born to underage mothers. The Sunday times headline read as follows ‘DNA check on 400, Custody order on kids in cult’. (Sunday Times 20 April 2008. p.36) Another news headline on the Internet read ‘over 400 children taken from Texas polygamist ranch.’ (Stoddard et al, 2008) These headlines neglect to mention that the group referred to are Mormon’s. This acts to reinforce the information set or traditional values at the present time in Australia that look at polygamy as abnormal, sinful and even criminal The many advocates of “family values” find the idea that love respect and caring must be acted out only or primarily in a nuclear family (Kilbride 1994). Yet things that where once deviant can become moral. For example same sex marriages are presently viewed as socially deviant whereas single parent families are moving towards a moral or proper status. (Kilbride 1994) The growing multi-culturalism in Australia will bring with it cultures who value and practice polygamy. As stated earlier in this essay, at the present time there is no need for polygamous marriages.
In conclusion the hypotheses put forward in Bretschneider’s book do not apply to modern Australian society. Polygamy is a multidimensional phenomenon; it was found that bridal wealth payments, high dependencies on fishing or plough agricultures and war for plunder to be strongly related to polygamy. (Bretschneider 1995) If we take these factors into account and compare them with Australian society then it is quite clear to see that polygamy would not work in Australia. In Australia marriage payments are becoming a joint venture paid by both families. Australians are not hunter-gatherers and with the advent of modern farming one machine can do he work of 20 or more people. Also there is no ongoing warfare or a need to take woman as captives.
This essay looked at some of the reasons other cultures practice polygamy and gave reasons why Australia has no need to practice polygamy. The question is not about “would polygamy work in Australia today.” The question should be is there a need for polygamy in Australia today. If there were a need like in the other cultures I have described then the answer would be yes. The Australia of today is not a society of Hunter Gatherers, or Horticulturalists. Australia is a country that has many diverse religious groups, but those involving polygamy are illegal. The Australian notion of the traditional family with a dad who works, a mum who stays at home with the children has changed dramatically in the last 60 years. Australia now has a large number of single parent families, couples living together in defacto relationships and same sex relationships. With the growing economic pressure on families there may be a need in the future for the one family living under one roof to change, but I do not see it becoming a polygamous marriage arrangement since in the present society a man having more that one wife would be unacceptable by the vast majority of Australians.
Word Count: 1412