There was a polygamy thread on MAD about 6 months ago where an apologist argued that it was the right of powerful (read: better men!) to take as many women as he could. Those less worthy men just would have to suck it up. I was stunned and was all over that thread. Only one other apologist really chimed in slightly.
This apologist claimed that women were truly just the nobler species and deserved the best of a male. I was stunned and came back with data that showed that abuse in relationships were practically on par for the sexes and went head to head with all his points. I couldn't believe that anyone would really believe that in a free society that there should be countless men that went without wives. Appears to me that this would break down the social structure of society. Yet, this male apologist was all for it. Odd. I think I went in and deleted all my posts though in a fit. Oh well.
It just struck me as very startling and bizarre.
It is bizarre, but it’s what happens when True Believers are protecting their belief – logic, reason, and even morals are all eligible to be thrown out the window.
The idea that women are more pure and more righteous then men has a very long history in the LDS culture. I think it did evolve partially to explain polygamy, although Joseph Smith didn’t seem to need such justification. He just thought that certain women had been given to him in the pre-existence, and he had every right to take them in this life, even if they were already married to some other poor sap. I long ago concluded that Joseph Smith didn’t have clear boundaries between himself and God, so if he felt desire and attraction to a woman, it meant that God was telling him that women was “his”.
But most people, including modern Mormons, are somewhat uncomfortable with that level of audacity, so had to construct new reasoning to explain why, at least in the CK, polygamy was not only allowed, but encouraged, and maybe even required. So the idea that there will be more women in the CK evolved.
In addition, I think it’s part of the gilded pedestal that patriarchal religions so often place women on. Women are just more pure, must be protected from the evil world, even to the extent that Heavenly Father forbids the worship of Heavenly Mother to “protect” her.
I’ve also seen female MADdites support this idea, that women should have the right to attach themselves to more desirable men, even if he’s already married, that this increases their personal power. Of course, many women do adhere to that sort of idea already, and are more than willing to share a powerful man. But just because something exists in our species does not mean we should condone and celebrate it. In many ways, early Mormonism seemed savagely Darwinian to me.