I keep getting clips from Sister Wives on my FB feed. I've watched lots of them but I can't piece together their whole story, I don't think I can get the channel TLC and there doesn't really seem to be another way of watching whole episodes or finding out who they all are and the background to it all. It's fascinating though!
This is a reality series about a mormon man and his four wives in the US. As a feminist British woman and totally non religious I clicked on it expecting to find a dysfunctional shit show. The husband is odd, no doubt about it. He has starey eyes and speaks in a really intense way as if he is under enormous pressure to demonstrate his religious zeal and potent masculinity. However, the women just seem smart, relaxed, likeable and to be bringing up their kids in a 'normal' way in a really convivial, communal atmosphere together with the other wives. In recent episodes it seems that one or two of the kids have come out as gay which has been absolutely fine for the mothers. I'm wondering, what's not to like? But surely there's something wrong? I feel a bit weird about it all. Can anyone answer these questions?
- What is the background to this all? What were each of the women doing before they met this man? Why did they agree to this arrangement?
- What is the history of their arrangement? It seems to be that they all lived together, then they lived in separate homes in the same cul de sac and then they moved to Flagstaff where they are quite separate. Why did this happen?
- Where on earth does the money come from? Does anybody work? Do the women work? Why do they keep on moving and where does the money come from to buy and build the houses?
- What are the tensions and conflicts between them? How much time does the husband spend with each woman?
- Why does it all look so benign, even enviable? I find myself thinking how nice it is to live in a group of women with a shared burden of childcare and on tap confidants. This can't be right though. Talk me out of it!