Family+-+'Four+Wives+and+a+Firestorm'

Family: "Four Wives and a Firestorm" First off, I don't really know what to say about the family's decision to air themselves on television. I can understand the desire of wanting people to know their story, but then come the troubles of television. First there's the debate of what's more important: the story getting sent out to Americans or the family's way or life? I mean, clearly they chose the story realizing the potential problems, but for the most part, they seemed to get by until the authorities actually showed up. At this point, it's too late to say "hey, we want to just live in peace like everyone else." Now the family has to decide whether or not they want to continue the show if Kody is let go (I've never seen the show to know what's happened in the time span since the article was released.) Then, there's the oft criticized part of any reality television show: scripting. Some people just can't help but think that everything on television is scripted or at least based off a script that decides everything, and they often can blur the line for other viewers as to what's real and what isn't.

I see this particular article as a kind of 'response' to "My Husband's Nine Wives" (although not intentionally, it's just the way the reading went), especially in light of Kody, the man of the household. "My Husband's Nine Wives" didn't really go into depth on the effects of the polygamist lifestyle on the male, this article appears to be more focused on the male, seeing as he is the one being "investigated for felony bigamy". "My Husband's Nine Wives" gave a sense that the man took on a very laid-back role than in monogamous household: sleeping in, not really doing any work, and simply being with his family. "Four Wives and a Firestorm" shows the stresses that can befall the male in a polygamist enviroment, especially in the legal area. I also see "Four Wives" as showing the kind of maturity the male has for taking care of, essentially, four different families all tied together. "'"A ménage á trois is something guys college guys do with prostitutes," explains Kody. "Not something a loving husband does with his wives."' (78)." This shows the ginormous leap that has to be made in maturity levels when entering a polygamist lifestyle. Most guys, when discussing the idea of multiple wives, would jump at the opportunity, if for nothing else, because of the percieved sex life. That kind of thinking is just bad for any kind of marital setting, let alone one where the husband assumes responsibility for four families.

The most response-inducing quote in this text would be from Carolyn Jessop who asserts about polygamy: "They paint a very pretty picture of this way of life, but those of us who've lived through it know that when you look a bit deeper, you'll see this isn't a natural way to live (83)." What I'd like to know is, what's the definition of natural? Shall we look towards the animal kingdom and nature to find what the "natural" way to live is; it's varied. Some animals mate for life, others simply mate. What about the human record; different cultures have different customs, with polygamy appearing in cultures around the world. So then what gives Carolyn the ability to declare polygamy "unnatural"? If she meant that the lifestyle has a different set of quirks than one would expect, growing up in a monogamous world, then it isn't "unnatural" but simply different. The first majority of her statement seems to suggest that she has experienced a polygamist household, which, judging from her staunch anti-polygamy position, was a very bad one that was covered up to appear like a decent household from the outside. In this case, it almost seems justifiable to throw her opinion out due to bias. However, to me, her statement has no ground; at least anti-gay advocates have the procreation argument. In the way of polygamy, the only arguments agains seem to be abuse or neglect, something that can both happen in any family and doesn't seem possible with constant, well-meaning constant parental surpervision that polygamy seems to offer.

I wish I could go into more detail about this topic, but, frankly, I don't know a lot about it, and the two articles I've read so far are relatively small and skimpy on information.