Polygamy

Research Papers about polygamy discuss marriage and having multiple spouses in some societies. Polygamy is a sociological concept that can be addressed in a custom written research paper from Paper Masters.

Marriage is considered to be a universal concept in that all societies appear to have it.In these societies, some type of union or pact allows two or more individuals to enter into a socially recognized union for the purpose of maintaining a family or economically joined household. There are many ways to conceptualize marriage.

1. One way is to examine mate selection in terms of whether the individuals are within the same group.
2. Another is by reviewing the number partners considered to be within the group.
3. The most common deviation from a marriage of two individuals, is the marriage of one man to many wives.

While most societies, define marriage as a union between two people, a man and a woman, other have defined this partnership differently.In some cultures, it is recognized as acceptable to have more than one husband. This situation is found in cultures that are defined by religion.Two of the most common religions that permit the marriage of one man to many wives are the Islam and the Mormons or the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints. The purpose of this paper is to examine these two religions in the context of marriage with regard to their treatment of women.

To most individuals, the notion of polygamy, the practice of having more than one wife, conjures up the notion of "harem [with] women as sex slaves, baby making machines, and indentured servants". Most Americans view such arrangements as illegal and immoral.To those outside of polygamous beliefs, such arrangements are little more than adulterous.

Within Muslim countries that support polygamy, most wives do not have the luxury of speaking out with regard to their feelings regarding this marital arrangement. While it can be assumed that many Muslim wives are content with this practice, others do not seem to be.For example, in France, there are "200,000 immigrants living in polygamous families in Paris". In this city, most women in polygamous marriages must live in small apartments with little space for them and their children. Most have difficult living on small incomes.Some women interviewed did not like sharing their husband's attention or favor nor "having to take turns in the conjugal bed". France, in order to cut down on the number of polygamous marriages, has stated that only one wife and family will be recognized in order to receive any types of governmental assistance.

In the city of Paris, females who were raised within Muslim polygamous households do not find the arrangement to be in their mothers' best interest. Daughters report that their father often favors the newest wife.