The stars of the worlds first polygamist reality show, Sister Wives, claim to support gay marriage. When they were asked about it, dad Kody said he didn’t think that the “state should be involved in marriage.” His second wife Janelle added “Every adult should have the right to marry and love who they want.” Given the Mormon church’s stance on gay marriage, it’s nice to hear that they have a more progressive take on it. This shows they’re not hypocrites – sort of. I mean it’s not like Kody is letting his wives take other lovers (male or female) and you know that would flip him out. Here’s what they told In Touch:
After facing criticism over their polygamist lifestyle, the stars of TLC’s Sister Wives are speaking out in favor of gay marriage. “I actually believe the state should never be involved in marriage,” patriarch Kody Brown, who has four wives and 16 children, exclusively tells In Touch. “That is a religious choice, or it is a personal choice. It is not something that the state is dictating.”
His wives – legal wife Meri, plus Janelle, Christine and Robyn agree. “Every adult should have the right to marry and love who they want,” says Janelle. Adds Meri, “We try to teach our kids: Don’t judge other people.”
[From In Touch, print edition, March 28, 2011]
(Possibly known) spoilers for upcoming season of Sister Wives
It’s known that Kody and the gang move to Nevada as some sort of finale for this season, as TMZ reported in January. The Brown family is already there now, but on the show they’re still in Utah and we’re watching the fallout from when they first went public. (I have only seen half of the first episode this season and will catch up this weekend. Nothing major happened so far that I’ve seen.) It turns out they don’t move to a remote part of the state – they move to Vegas and all of the women get separate homes! Kody enthused about how happy he was about this to Star Magazine and he even did a flip for them, which they included a photo of. He also said the case against him in Utah for felony bigamy has been closed.
“I just have so much energy,” he exclaimed. And he should – the second season of his TLC reality show featuring life with his four wives and 16 children premiered March 13. This time around, the Browns have traded Utah for Nevada. “My fantasy was always to live in Vegas,” he says. “It’s a good place to build a business. And the sunsets are to die for.” Another perk: His wives live in separate homes, and Kody spends each night in a different one. No wonder he’s flipping!
[From Star Magazine, print edition, March 28, 2011]
The housing crisis hit the Vegas area hard and there are probably plenty of homes to snatch up at low prices, but Kody sounds like an ass here. He already has his cake, more than a dozen kids, and is still gloating about how happy he is that he gets to live in Vegas now that he’s cashed in on his family’s notoriety. Why does he love it there so much? Is he hoping to add a fertile showgirl to the mix? I agree with them that adults should be able to live with other consenting adults and I like that they realize that should include same sex couples. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to rag on Kody for being a selfish doofus with double standards.
Here’s Kody and Robyn out shopping in Salt Lake City, Utah on 10/9/10. Credit: Fame
‘selective bible interpretation’…nice. ‘fundamentalists’in one way, ‘radicals’ in another.
It’s good that they aren’t hypocrites at least. But I don’t think gay marriage should be associated in any way with polygamy,there is a difference between two consenting adults who want to have the same legal rights as a heterosexual couple and the model of polygamy where women who treated like chattel married underage and are in all ways slaves to their husbands/church.
This family is a rarity in that they are all consenting adults I have no problem with them living their lives as they choose but it’s still not comparable.
He is living the fantasy life of many men. I would be interested if the wives had other husbands. This is merely another case of a man controlling woman.
Oh puh-leezeeeeeeee it is nothing, NOTHING like gay marriage. Gay marriage is about two commited loving adults who want to protect their families and have a lifetime commitment. I love how people always try to get everyone in on something, they know most people are now supporting same sex marriage and so they want to link themselves to something positive.. GIVE ME A BREAK… NOT!!!!!!!!
@mln76 Agreed. The comparison sort of cheapens the meaning behind gay marriage. One is an issue of love, human rights and equality – the other is an issue of…well, I don’t know what the f to call Kody and his troupe. It’s more than bigamy or polygamy. It’s like a junkyard dog peeing on all of his bitches then moving to a fancier alley with more glamorous bitches.
I hate that they have seperate homes because their children all grew up together.
The more I learn about him the more he bugs the shit out of me. eww.
“the model of polygamy where women who treated like chattel married underage and are in all ways slaves to their husbands/church”
This is a terrible way to stereotype a practice. Just cause this happens in some polygamous relationships doesn’t mean it should define them and be seen as a model for all such relationships. Such generalizations take society back in the same way as thinking that all gay people are deviant sexual preditors and pedophiles who can’t commit to a monogamous relationship…
@CB
Please don’t take this as argumentative. It’s just another perspective.
Their stance on gay marriage is absolutley hypocritical, to their mormon faith. This is a perfect example of “situational ethics or morality”. How could they possibly be against any kind of marriage when they are wanting support for their choices.
Supporters of gay marriage do not need their kind of flim-flam endorsement.
Ugh that Robyn chick needs to get a life. As do they all. But their stance on gay marriage is awesome. So I guess good for them.
As a lesbian who is flying to Vermont to marry my long term partner in April – I would like to say thank you to everyone who expressed support of same sex marriage.
And the “norm” of Polygamy – perhaps if it were legal and restricted the way marriage is now – i.e. age of consent – maybe the underage and the misstreated women would be helped?
I would also like to say that I don’t see anything wrong with adults living their life in a healthy, however not traditional (to me), way – but the key is ADULTS and HEALTHY!!
He does bother me because he pimped his family for Vegas, though!
Rita – snap girlfriend! You are awesome, I always love your comments!
Hypocrites. I don’t think there is a parallel. And I hope ALL his wives throw him out of their houses, take lovers and plot to dose his drink prior to an involuntary vasectomy.
@LittleFatMe
I wish you the happiest wedding day and a long life together.
@BB & mln76
You frame a very important aspect to the marriage debate. Why not polygamy between consenting adults? Credibility in any arguement requires consistency. We can’t point out examples of fanatics and the fringe to justify our opposition. In doing so, someone’s case will be strengthened to legally define marriage and they will define it as the union between one man and one woman. Be carefull what you support and oppose because your own arguements may come back to bite you. I do not have the answers, just thoughts.
@BB anf liitlefatme- i very much agree. these are adults. they are consenting adults. every relationship has its ups and downs. i understand there was tension with robin coming in, but they made it work, this is their belief. i dont understand why people have a problem with them. none of them were children who were married off and they dont push their children into it. all parents have said polyigamy lifestyle is up to their children. just because you might not want to do something doesnt mean its wrong. dont let a cult leader like jeffries give all plygs a bad name. they dont live off the govt, they have happy healthy children, and they are a family, a loving one too.
I just want to know how ANY of his “wives” can stomach having him touch them.
For the love of all that is holy, I wish just one of those women would kick that dumb-ass Kody to the kurb.
it bothers me too that they are getting separate houses because they always talk about how they are “one big family”. I think separating into different houses is really going to have a negative effect on the kids. I think this is a selfish move on the part of the the wives. I feel like they should have bought a big piece of land and build a giant house they all live in together. If they could start from scratch and design it themselves everyone could have input. But maybe they are thinking about the future possiblity of another wife, so separate houses makes adding another less complicated. I like the wives and the kids seem really well adjusted. The oldest boy and the second to oldest girl show some signs of disgust about coming out as a polygimast family, but other than that everyone seems happy.
I agree that gay marriage should not be even mentioned in the same breath as polygamy.
I am suspect of their support for gay marriage, especially since they’re supposed to be traditional, fundamentalist Mormons. I wouldn’t put it past them at all to be lying on this in some twisted hopes of getting more public support. I was involuntarily subjected to an episode of this show the other night, and wished I could throw a brick at the dad’s head. What a frigging tool.
@LittleFatMe: Congratulations on your up coming wedding that’s wonderful. I wish you all the joy in the world.
In a way he is not a hypocrite because he affirms the right of everybody to love who they want. In another, he is indeed a hypocrite because his take on gay right is not biblical.
Personally, I think he should stop associating polygamy with religion. Polygamy is fine as long as all parties involved are adults and consenting to it. I just can’t see how and why polygamy should be worse (or better) than gay marriage.
@LITTLEFATME… CONGRATS!!! Happy Marriage and long love to you!
You have a lot of supporters here for gay marriages, I am one of them.
To you and your future! **Toasting My Coke***
Women were not intended to be brooding mares. I cannot imagine what it feels like to sleep with a man that has just washed another off of him. The wives getting separate houses proves at the heart of polygamy is a woman that wants a house and man of her own. Watching them cry as they say ‘sharing’ is right breaks my heart for them.
there is a difference between gay marriage and girls being told their salvation depends on them being a fifth wife to bubba
@#22: “there is a difference between gay marriage and girls being told their salvation depends on them being a fifth wife to bubba.”
____________________________
LOL! And someone tell Bubba to get a damned haircut.
I saw the latest show where they went on the Today show and Meredith Vieria asked Kody why, since he wasn’t raised as a polygamist, he went to it after he grew up. Well, we all know the answer to THAT. He sat there, dumb and silent for awhile, and eventually said it was fate-based or faith-based and he just landed that way. BALONEY.
So now they move to Sin City? What’s he gonna do, add more chicas to the mix? He is a self-important P I G.
On the other hand, amidst hookers and gamblers, these people are gonna seem like tinkerbells and not get judged, and Kody’s going to get kudos and thumbs-up from passers by every time he stops for gas. Also, if houses are so cheap as the Browns are saying is their excuse for moving there, maybe buying four houses is cheaper than building a Waco Compound like it would take to house all these folk.
Either way, Kody smells like a RAT to me.
women and children are property of the husband
that is why women dont leave fundamentalist families becasue their children are not allowed to go with them
they would literally have to escape
The state has no place in any consensual adult marriage.
Period.
Also, grown women–no matter what their marital state–should not wear matching outfits. Ever.
ugh. who cares what these trashy peeps think about anything?
He deeply disturbs me. He acts like this surfer dude frat boy but he’s a grown man with a gazillion kids and 4 wives. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. The woman have a closer bond to each other than that man has with any of them.
these people are disgusting. (not even for their sleeping arrangements, more for their ship’s condition. They ARE gross.)
and, can’t I just marry my dog for goddsakes. I mean, Lord knows, if the guy had working thumbs, he’d do whatever it is I asked. For Lord knows, my dog is the only being always happy to see me, loves me even though I’m aging and loves to hike. Talk about Made In Heaven.
So, who’ll officiate???
They are entitled to live however they like so long as they aren’t hurting any children; I find it none of my business or anyone elses. Gay marriage is an AMERICAN right just as religion or free speech…you don’t have to agree…just don’t prevent others because of your own view!
I saw these people at JFK two Sundays ago coming in on a flight from Vegas (American Airlines). Had no clue who they were but someone told me.
So, let me get this straight ‘people have a right to love who they want’, but Kody and his wives are ridiculous because they CHOOSE to live this way?
@Rita, “Their stance on gay marriage is absolutley hypocritical, to their mormon faith. This is a perfect example of “situational ethics or morality”
my thoughts exactly! Just leads me to believe that religion doesn’t dictate his lifestyle. I believe he uses religion as a trap to lure women into a lifestyle where the men are kings and the women are there to serve them.
Kody is totally ignorant. OF COURSE the state determines marriage, as it has throughout history. Name one culture where the state isn’t involved. Why? Because the primary purpose of marriage is PROPERTY and INHERITANCE. Religious concerns are actually secondary.
And how does this dude support his family anyway, huh? Do any of his women work outside the home, as they used to say? TLC has a track record of giving sketchy people shows – dig into the Duggars’ background for instance…
I can see the similarities in polygamy and same sex marriages in that they are both very controversial in the United States.
I agree that the state shouldn’t be able to ban same sex marriages. I’m still up in the air about polygamy since there seems to be some trouble with it.
But, I have no problems with Kody and his wifes. They all seem to be consenting adults. I imagine if they wanted out, they have better opportunites than many other women in such relationships. The producers of the show would probably be more than happy to help them since it would create added drama.
Do I think Kody seems like a tool? Yes. Do I understand why any woman would want to be in a relationship like that? No, but I don’t have to.
@cara, your dog can’t consent because he doesn’t know what the hell you’re talking about. So no, you can’t marry him. 🙂
the sister wives polygamy thing would bother me less if women were also allowed to have multiple husbands.
like Dr Phlox off of Enterprise.
that this only goes one way makes it unequal, sexist.
how convenient for Kody that his “faith” doesn’t require him to share the way his wives have to share.
i think it’s telling that each wife wants her own home. was this really her choice or did she feel she was required to be in polygamy for the sake of her salvation or something?
never underestimate the power of spiritual fear.
gay marriage is about two people of the same sex wanting to enter into a lawfully protected monogamous relationship.
totally different
@Rita – “Their stance on gay marriage is absolutley hypocritical, to their mormon faith. This is a perfect example of “situational ethics or morality”. How could they possibly be against any kind of marriage when they are wanting support for their choices. Supporters of gay marriage do not need their kind of flim-flam endorsement.”
ITA. Their claim of ‘support’ for gay marriage is likely only to avoid hurting their own cause, as it would be applying religious/moral ideas to the state’s laws regarding marriage… Which is also the reason ‘polygamy’ is still considered illegal. It’s just a self serving statement meant to make them look progressive while speaking for a ’cause’ other than their own.
I can only speak for my opinion when both parties are consenting adults… But simply not being legally allowed to ‘get married’ to more than one wife isn’t going to stop someone who wants to live that lifestyle from simply declaring themselves ‘married’ in the religious sense. They’re going to live the same way whether it’s legal or not, so I don’t understand the point of it staying illegal for adults.
@LittleFATMe – A HUGE congratulations on your upcoming marriage!! I’m glad at least *some* states are moving in the right direction, even if the one I live in isn’t one of them. (I was disappointed to realize that when I looked it up today. I’m not gay myself, but have a lot of friends who are. I really thought the bill had gone through here, for some reason, but apparently not.)
What value does Robyn bring to that family?
Janelle: Brings home a big paycheck. Has older stable children who can help out. Cool headed and practical one. Her mom is a nurse.
Christine: The homemaker. She used to homeschool the kids and she’s known as the “good cook.” Also, has older stable children who can help out. Does majority of child care.
Meri: Is going to school so she can bring home a decent paycheck in the future, plus she used to have at least a part-time job so she brought in a little bit of income. Has an older stable daughter who can help out. The master photographer and teeth puller.
Kody: Sperm donor and brings in an income. His parents have a cool ranch that they use as a vacation spot.
THEN:
Robyn: No income. Massive debt. Three unstable young children she can’t control and can’t help out yet. Always crying/whining. Shown no special talent/characteristic thus far.
Do you see this Robyn?!