Letters to the Editor
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If this were the worst thing in Chechnya...
While I applaud Broadsheet on its highlighting of women's situations in other countries, it is best done with some context.
Yes, I will agree that polygamy is a Bad Thing. However, in the grand scheme of all that is wrong in Chechnya--destroyed infrastructure, rampant terrorism, indiscriminate killings on both sides, and the acrid whiff of failed state most prominent among them--the danger to women from potential polygamy would have to be at the bottom of the barrel. This polygamy red herring is something that has come up (and died down) in several post-communist countries in the former Soviet Union since the fall of the USSR.
Oh, and taking anything Zhirnovsky says with any gravity is an exercise in the ridiculous. He lives to make headlines and to shock. It would be best for everyone--Russian, American, Chechnyan, and all points in between--if he and Pat Robertson went bowling together and never came back.
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I fail to see the what's wrong with polygamy
Seriously, what's the deal? Maybe it's because I've been exposed to married and non-married couples who have live in girlfriends/boyfriends, but I really don't see what's so evil about polygamy if everyone involved consents to it.
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Polygamy, schmigamy!
Really, so what? I mean, certainly traditional one-to-one, male/female marriage is the dominant form in western civilization, but heaven forfend if there are others that choose different paths.
What it comes down to in the end is something that I've said and written over and over again: life is long; life is hard; whatever it takes to get you through the day-- as long as it doesn't impinge on my own pursuit of happiness-- then go for it...
Now, I will say that it should be a two way street. If a man can take multiple wives, then a woman should be allowed multiple husbands. If the system can stomach it, as can the spouses, marry away.
For an interesting read, tangentially on this subject, check out Robert Heinlein's 'The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.' The characters in this story explore many forms of non-traditional marriage. Same for 'Time Enough for Love;' same author.
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The point.
Mormons use the old "not enough men" excuse, when really their polygamy was just religiously sanctioned horn-doggery. I don't think, I know that that is what's going on here.
The problem with polygamy is that it's never about laid back hippies all loving each other, it's always about middle aged men wanting to screw 14 year olds.
If a group of Chechenyan women starts clamoring for legal polygamy, I'll eat my hat, but notice it's a man magnanimously asking for it. What does he have to worry about? There are enough women, after all. I'm sure his wife has other thoughts.
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I'm down with Polygamy
What exactly is so disturbing about polygamy? Seems like an entirely legitimate choice if that's what their nation wants to do. It's not like their forcing people to get married.
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Why should the government have a say?
Isn't this really the same issue we're now facing with gay marriage? Is there any reason the government should be able to tell us who we can and cannot marry? It's a religious and/or cultural union. The government shouldn't be involved for a number of reasons, including separation of church and state. Polygamy, gay marriage, goat marriage, who gives a flying f#ck.
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One of the tricky questions is how you jusitfy outlawing prositution
If adults have a constitutional right to sexual privacy.
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polygamy in a Muslim land (Chechnya)
Sad as it is, this situation is not new. Chechnya has a large Muslim population, and Islam has historically allowed (and encouraged) men to marry widows so their children would be provided for. I'm sure in times when single mothers (even those widowed) had extreme difficulty providing for their children this made sense, but it shouldn't be a need in the modern world. But the practice has happened and likely will continue to happen. (It is also, obscenely, what my stepfather suggested to my shocked mother and me when I was a child, ostensibly for this reason but really because he was bored with the marriage. Thank the gods he didn't go through with it or I'd be more traumatized than I already am by that man!)
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Re: Cayetana
So what if it's about banging a 14-year old? If she agrees to it and her parents agree to it, where's the harm? Guess what, the only one who gives a shit about your ethics is you, and only you. Funny how often I have to tell liberal feminists that these days. If she wants to be nothing more than a cum bucket then let her, she can always divorce if she changes her mind later.
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Not just expanding patriarchy
I would be all about polygamy, if it went both ways, with polyandry also being an option. Polyamory, we call it, out here in the Real World. Women should be allowed to have more than one husband, too. If it only goes one way, it's just another form of patriarchy.
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this is funny a billion different ways
>>Guess what, the only one who gives a shit about your ethics is you, and only you. Funny how often I have to tell liberal feminists that these days.>>
But if you have to tell feminists that often, that means there are A LOT of people who think that way and care about those ethics. So you contridicted yourself.
Lemme give you a break: you don't have to tell us anything. Relax.