Posted on 03/28/2006 12:42:20 PM PST by mathprof
"Big Love," HBO's new take on a fictional polygamous family in the suburbs of this city, was on the television. The Viagra-popping Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) was thrashing in bed with Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), the youngest of his three wives. The five women watching the show — covering their eyes during the sex scenes, chiding the competitive wives, urging Bill to take control — were critics with special credentials: a current or past polygamous marriage.
And despite the show's flaws, these women called "Big Love" a cultural benchmark, one with the potential to cast a warmer light on their lives.
"It's a more realistic view of a polygamous family that lives out in society than people have known," said Anne Wilde, a widow who was part of a multiple family for 33 years. "It can be seen as a viable alternative lifestyle between consenting adults."
[snip]
For the women gathered in a hotel room here at the request of The New York Times to talk about the intersection of their lives and popular culture, more is at stake than good ratings. "This is a glimpse of a family that is mainstream," Mary Batchelor, a 37-year-old mother of seven and director of "Principle Voices," a leading polygamy advocacy group, said of the Henricksons. "There are hundreds of these families. It shows an aspect of polygamy nobody ever sees....[snip]
"This is making all of America say 'Why is there a law against polygamy?' " said a 55-year-old woman who wanted to be known only as Doris, because she feared repercussions at her new job after years of staying at home with her 14 children in suburban West Jordan. "This guy is just trying to support his family, and the family is just trying to make it."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
uh, er, say...I'm going to be on a short vaction...good luck with that chop saw on your, uh, home improvement project!
Yes, its interesting to see normallish people living in this arrangement, but I don't think the depiction is going to lead to a big increase in polygamy. The show is hardly an advertisement for the lifestyle, since it looks pretty awful and quite bizarre for all concerned!
But by herself, I wouldn't trade the world for her.
IIRC, Jacob in the Bible had a hard time with his two wives. They bartered for his affections before he even got home from working in the field. That might sound romantic, but I don't think even he thought it was.
did we mention the high powered nail gun?
You can run, Paco, but you cannot hide.
My next building project I hope will be a Cathouse (Cattery)
"Oh you get the picture,
"
Oh, sure. You want, say, three guys. One to take care of the car, another to do fixups around the house, and the third to do major work.
In the meantime, you can just have as many "headaches" as you please.
Well, girlie...I'm not buying it....[grin]
Now...about those pictures you mentioned.....
My husband also found two wives who love to read and is inclined to put books before all else. Even husbands wanting attention. He's threatened that if something happens to me, he's going to marry an illiterate woman. But then he relents. He tells me he mostly works to supply my books. LOL!! We have great dinner conversations (and hmm, debates--he's a democrat) because we both read and both think. If marriage was all that easy, we would probably be bored, wouldn't we?
I personally hate violence and the Mafia, but I still love The Sopranos.
I don't get headaches.
I can BE one, but I don't get them.
And according to JCB, of SPQ fame,
a woman needs 5 men in her life--
one to fix things
one to shop with
one to dance with
one to talk to
and one to buy her pretty stuff.
They all get job six :)
And pictures?
Hmmm
ROFL!!!
Amen to that: If anything, this show makes having more than one wife sound like an infinitely losing proposition . . . not glamorous or desirable at all, unless you're some sort of psycho who'd enjoy dealing with the "unique" personality traits of several different women, full-time, just to enjoy the strange.
So, you only really need 5 guys, then, since they'll all be assigned job 6. Makes perfect sense.
Not that I support it but consider the following if we use your explanation.
Explain this: Wouldn't one man, two women who each have two children to the "husband" be better off then one man, one woman with four children? More resources for the same amount of children. Also shouldn't we then outlaw divorce and second marriages?
Well its true. Vegas should have and over/under on it.
I don't know how you do it....cause our debates are about the usual stuff. If we had to through political differences in as well, I'd guess I'd have to spend most of my time mute. :-)
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