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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday October 28 2015, @12:09PM   Printer-friendly
from the how-do-you-keep-multiple-wives-happy dept.

A study conducted by a team of researchers from the U.K., Tanzania and the U.S. has found an example of polygynous marriage that does not appear to be harmful to women or children. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers outline their study of people living in villages in Tanzania, and why they believe organizations such as the UN need to modify their stance on the practice to better take account of cultural practices.

Polygny is a term used to refer to marriage systems where males can have more than one wife, while polygamy refers to the actual practice of it. In this new study, the researchers looked into the question of whether a polygnynous marriage is in fact harmful to women or children as has been assumed by many in the international community. They looked at 3,500 households in villages in Tanzania, noting the occurrences of polygnynous marriage versus monogamous marriage and the standard of living for those women and children.

In looking at their data, they found that first wives—women who were the first to marry a man with several wives, tended to have better nutrition as did their children, than women in monogamous marriages and their children. Later wives and their children fared on average as well as monogamous wives and their children, but not as well as first wives. This, the team claims, shows that not all instances of polygynous marriage are harmful to women or children—it shows that in some cases, it can actually be a practice that women can use to better their lives and that of their children. It is a matter of wealth and the rules that govern a society—if women cannot own land or other resources, for example, or take a job, as was the case in the Tanzanian villages, they will likely do better in life if they are able to attract and marry a man with some degree of wealth, which in some cases may mean, a man with multiple wives.

How do the husbands fare?


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday October 28 2015, @03:57PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Wednesday October 28 2015, @03:57PM (#255644) Journal

    When that reality show Big Love came out, I pondered what the reality of that kind of family life would be. It seems like a bad deal for the husband. When women live together their cycles synchronize. That means they PMS together, and become amorous at the same time. You as the husband lose both ways. If you're going to have any such arrangement, it seems like the old royal model of an official wife plus a harem works the best for the man, because the wife knows she's not for fun and the harem ladies know they'll never be official, so you get to balance the two off against each other and win in the middle.

    The converse model of polyandry is interesting, if you're not a sultan or emperor. If the wife is a high-libido person and you get equal time with her, it could work out pretty well because the burden of nagging and "honey-do" projects would be shared. If you don't care if her children are yours or not, then it could work out fine.

    The thing is, if we are primates and primates don't generally work that way, then we're going to have a tension with any arrangement that doesn't work that same way.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by cubancigar11 on Wednesday October 28 2015, @05:46PM

    by cubancigar11 (330) on Wednesday October 28 2015, @05:46PM (#255713) Homepage Journal

    The problem with polyandry is that men are emotionally weaker than women plus they don't get any support for 'wife-problems' from society. A man in polyandrous relationship is basically a dildo.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2015, @11:12PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 28 2015, @11:12PM (#255792)

      The problem with polyandry is that men are emotionally weaker than women plus they don't get any support for 'wife-problems' from society.

      Nice generalizations. There are people who make relationships like this work. Just because it's not for you doesn't mean it can't work.

      A man in polyandrous relationship is basically a dildo.

      How so?

      All this silly puritan monogamy nonsense...

      • (Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Thursday October 29 2015, @05:55AM

        by cubancigar11 (330) on Thursday October 29 2015, @05:55AM (#255902) Homepage Journal

        Stop posting as an AC and I might give you a proper reply. For now, BZZZZT - wrong answer. I have never been in an polyandrous relationship thank you very much.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:42AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 29 2015, @10:42AM (#255956)

          I have never been in an polyandrous relationship thank you very much.

          I don't recall saying that you have been.