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Is polygamy sexist?
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Question: Is polygamy sexist?
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Introduction to Question
Many assert that Latter-day Saint polygamy is sexist. This perspective has been promoted in many feminist Latter-day Saint circles and troubles many women today.
It is claimed that the historical practice of polygamy by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as some of the theology about celestial polygamy is sexist. This has been most passionately argued by Latter-day Saint poet Carol Lynn Pearson in her book The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men.[1]
Notes
- ↑ Carol Lynn Pearson, The Ghost of Eternal Polygamy: Haunting the Hearts and Heaven of Mormon Women and Men (Walnut Creek, CA: Pivot Point Books, 2016). For reviews that expose the weaknesses of Pearson’s position and approach, see Allen Wyatt, “Scary Ghost Stories in the Light of Day,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 23 (2017): 137–160; Brian C. Hales, “Opportunity Lost,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship 23 (2017): 91–109. Hales actually agrees with earthly polygamy is sexist and unfair on pages 96–97. His footnote (97n4) next to the assertion that earthly polygamy is sexist reads: "In the case of a new plural wife who would have remained unmarried if monogamy was exclusively practices, her “emotional and sexual opportunities as a wife” are increased from zero to some fraction depending on how many other wives the man has. However, the other wives’ opportunities are diminished as a result of the new plural matrimony." This article will respond to this claim.