America is a nation founded on a plethora of values and cultures. Not many practices evidence this more than marriage. Quite frankly marriages are the epitome when it comes to American portrayal. Nonetheless, the types and the way unions are carried out have changed quite significantly in modern America. Unlike the monogamous heterosexual sort of marriages that were the standard during the beginning of America as a nation, there are now polygamous, polyandrous and even same-sex relationships which are by far different. To understand how society works in America it is imperative to evaluate these different types of marriages and that is the aim of this text.
Monogamy
Monogamy is by far the most common form of marriage in America. Many individuals albeit out of ignorance have a notion that monogamy is the only form of marriage in the US. In succinct terms, monogamy refers to the practice of only marrying or being married to one person at a time. In better terms, it represents a marriage with only two partners. Musick and Bumpass suggest that although monogamy has been its existence for quite a while Christianity is mainly credited for its spread. Speaking of Christianity it is important to acknowledge the religion’s influence on much of American societal values and consequently marriage (2012). Christianity advocates for a monogamous one man one woman marriage and naturally it follows that the most common form of marriage in America are monogamous heterosexual unions.
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In 2015, there were up to 60.25 million married couples which is roughly a rate of 9.8 married individuals per 1000 persons (Goldscheider, Bernhardt, & Lappegård, 2015). This data supports the popularity of monogamous marriages in America. There are a number of reasons for this data the primary being that monogamy is the common legalized form of marriage. Moreover, other reasons include societal as well as religious norms that support monogamy. It is important to also note that same-sex marriages were legalized nationally by the Supreme Court in 2015. Hence, as such same-sex marriages also count as monogamous unions.
Nonetheless, there are quite a number of individuals, forums and even sociologists who question the validity of monogamy. Despite the huge number of Americans who get married each year divorce rates are on the rise. As much as 40% of all American marriages end up in a divorce. This does not necessarily point out the ineffectiveness of monogamous unions but hints out at problems within this marriage system. Moreover, high levels of promiscuity among Americans before, during and after marriage suggest that individuals may just be monogamous on paper and anything from polygamous to polyandrous in real life (Musick, & Bumpass, 2012).
Polygamy
Polygamy refers to the act of having more than one spouse at a given time. To differentiate from bigamy where two or more spouses are unaware of each other, in a polygamous relationship it is assumed that the two or more spouses know each other and to some extent cooperate within the relationship. Additionally, for the sake of future arguments in this paper, polygamy here would refer to a man marrying more than one wife.
In America, polygamous marriages, despite no federal laws hindering such unions, are outlawed in all her 50 states. The reasoning behind its unlawfulness is that polygamous marriages would open doors to bigamy whereby spouses are unaware of each other (Morin, 2013). Moreover, it is generally believed and accepted that before one takes another wife he has to divorce the other according to a court of law. Earlier on it was mentioned that Christianity plays a key role in the American society. In this case, anti-polygamists often use the Bible as a means of justifying the reasoning behind banning such unions.
Nonetheless, polygamous relationships not necessarily marriages do exist in America. Since such marriages are abolished they are often carried out in secrecy and through legal loopholes. For instance, Morin articulates that in 1998 there were an anticipated 40,000 people in a polygamous union yet on paper there were none (2013). To get through the unlawfulness of polygamy many individuals often only legally marry the first wife while the other spouses are united in private ceremonies for the purpose of acknowledgment. All in all, however, polygamous marriages still remain illegal in America despite the increasing number of polygamous relationships.
Polyandry
Polyandry is actually a form of polygamy although under the context that a woman is involved with more than one spouse mainly males. It is a relatively rare occurrence not only in America but the whole world in general. A survey by anthropologists Katherine Starkweather and Raymond Hames highlighted that polyandry was practiced in 53 societies (2012). That is a very small subset of the human pollution considering there are hundreds of thousands of societies globally. Like its supplement, polygamy, polyandry is theoretically illegal in America as well. It is imperative to note that many individuals tend to confuse polyandry with polyamory; a state in which a person is romantically involved with more than one person at a time. The difference lies in the assumption that men in polyandrous relationships are aware of each other.
Since polyandry is rare even in America it is even more important to understand the reasoning behind individuals who practice it. Starkweather and Hames suggest that “indigenous” polyandry is as a result of measures to cope with the environment’s needs (2012). Environment here means the setting of a relationship and not necessarily surrounding land. For instance, in Asia, many brothers would marry one common wife to safeguard ancestral land. In most communities, however, polyandry was mainly practices as a way of safeguarding the wife in case of the “first” husband’s absence.
In America, polyandry is mainly practiced as a result of intimate needs and/or desire. For example, a common explanation for polyandry among its practitioners is that the woman in the relationship needs more than one man to be satisfied. In that case, other additional spouses are sort after to combat this need. Moreover, Starkweather and Hames mention something called the “Father Effect”; this is whereby two fathers can be both socially recognized as fathers of a single child. This has its origins among the Bari people who believed children “conceived” over the course of a pregnancy by two men have a greater chance of survival (Starkweather & Hames, 2012). In America, biological fathers who donate sperm may create such an environment. In the case where the biological father is allowed access to the child, this may result in polyandry whereby even if no intimate contact is made theoretically it may seem as if two men are in a relationship with one woman.
Marriage in other Cultures
It is prudent to be knowledgeable on other variances of a similar subject to avoid being ignorant or even worse biased. Hence, it is important to point out other forms or deviations of marriage in other cultures so as to form a good comparison with American marriage culture. To begin with, most Native American tribes had a form of marriage whereby sex was not combined with guilt or union. In short, marriage was not about sex or intimacy and sex was not meant to be practiced only in marriage. Both polygamy and polyandry existed in a variety of ways. Men would often marry sisters from the same household as sisters were more likely to cooperate as co-wives. Among the Pawnee, there existed a form of temporary polyandry. That is when a boy became an adolescent he would be initiated into sex by his mother’s brother’s wife (Coontz, 2016). More often than not an elderly woman would have more than one adolescent mate creating a polyandrous situation. Most importantly, marriage among the Indian tribes was seen as a temporary pedestal unlike in modern America where marriage is supposed to be a lifetime commitment.
In many African cultures marriage did exist, however, it was designed for a different purpose. For instance, among the Bantu tribes in East and Central Africa, marriage was mainly for procreation. Hence polygamy was more often common than not. This was under the reasoning that more wives would more likely equal more children. Such reasoning was justifiable in two ways. Firstly, according to Radcliffe-Brown and Forde, children were seen as a form of wealth on their own. The more children one had the more he was deemed wealthy and respectable (2015). Moreover, it is important to note that majority of the Bantu communities were land cultivators and thus more children equaled unparalleled farm labor. Marriage was a rite of passage that signified the union of one household to another more than two persons (Radcliffe-Brown & Forde, 2015). However, such practices and mindsets are quickly vanishing as more and more people continue to be heavily influenced by Western culture and not forgetting the effects of European colonization.
Conclusion
Marriage in America is mainly based around monogamous relationships and ideals. This can be credited to the Christian influence on the nation. Due to the illegality of other forms of marriage predominantly polygamy it is hard to gain actual data regarding such unions. However, it is imprudent to deny the existence of polygamy, polyandry as well as other forms of nonconventional marriages in America. Despite the diversity in beliefs and cultures in America, one thing is for sure that is marriage plays a huge role in the US society.
References
Coontz, S. (2016). The social origins of private life: A history of American families, 1600-1900 . Verso Books.
Goldscheider, F., Bernhardt, E., & Lappegård, T. (2015). The gender revolution: A framework for understanding changing family and demographic behavior. Population and Development Review , 41 (2), 207-239.
Musick, K., & Bumpass, L. (2012). Reexamining the case for marriage: Union formation and changes in well ‐ being. Journal of Marriage and Family , 74 (1), 1-18.
Morin, A. E. (2013). Use It or Lose It: The Enforcement of Polygamy Laws in America. Rutgers L. Rev. , 66 , 497.
Radcliffe-Brown, A. R., & Forde, D. (2015). African systems of kinship and marriage . Routledge.
Starkweather, K. E., & Hames, R. (2012). A survey of non-classical polyandry. Human Nature , 23 (2), 149-172.
