Practicum Post #3 - Polygamists Online, Madison Oie

            The second group I will study is people who practice polygamy, a generally unaccepted lifestyle that is becoming more prevalent in the United States. Polygamy is criticized by most of society for being sexist, and is portrayed as brainwashing.  On the whole, polygamist use the internet in three primary ways; dating sites, discussions of polygamist lifestyle, and discussion of legal issues surrounding polygamy.

A google search of polygamy will lead a plethora of networking sites such as 2wives.com, RealPolygamy.com, and polygamydating.com. These sites are very similar to traditional dating sites except that they ads are often posted by a couple looking for another wife to join their family. Most sites charged a fee, so they are difficult to explore deeper.

On blogging sites (ex: polygrrl.blogspot.com, thepluralwife.blogspot.com, and mormonhair.tumblr.com) polygamist women discuss their home lives and family, similar to other home-focused blogs. In addition to recipes, crafts, fashion and design, these blogs emphasize how normal and loving polygamists homes can be. These blogs, all written by women, range in the degree in which they mention polygamy. Some talk of the day to day struggles and stress (such as jealousy among wives,  religious restrictions, and societal unacceptance) while others don’t mention polygamous practices at all.

The third way polygamists use the internet is to promote and discuss their opinions of legal and societal issues regarding polygamy via blogs and forums. In forums (ex: 4thefamily.us.com), intense debates stem from court cases and state laws. Another popular discussion topic was how polygamy is portrayed in the media through news stories, television shows, and in movies (ex: polygamynow.blogspot.com).

In general, polygamists don’t seem to use blogs and forums very often; there weren’t many to be found and they were not used consistently. They outlets that do exist were used for support and promotion of their lifestyle. I felt that sometimes the contributors over-stressed the normalacy of polygamy, nearly every blog/forum contained a post about how polygamists are average people. I’m not sure if this was an attempt for polygamists to change their image and promote understanding among the pubic, or if it is true.