Academics Say Polygamy Is Good for Women

Academics are beginning to say that polygyny is not only good for women, but driven by them -- and good for children too. As Douglas Todd reports,

A few U.S. academics have recently weighed in with support for voluntary polygamy, saying it's not really about sex, but alternative family structures.

In her book, We Want For Our Sisters What We Want for Ourselves, Georgia State University professor Patricia Dixon, a feminist, defends the long non-European history of polygamy and positively portrays the lives of African-Americans who have "co-partnered" with several women and one husband.

As well, anthropologist Philip Kilbride, of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, says in his book, Plural Marriage for Our Times, that on a continent with a 50-per cent divorce rate, children could end up with more parental security in a polygamous household.

John Stossel of ABC's 20/20 reported on Dixon's work...

Ten years ago, University of Georgia professor Patricia Dixon thought polygamy exploited women, but after spending years living in different polygamous communities — some in the United States and some abroad — she was surprised to find something else.

"It's female-centered," Dixon said. "The women are the ones who are benefiting when they're in a [polygamous] situation. … It's not about another notch on your belt or anything like that. It really is the women who really promote this idea."