Summary/ Reaction

After giving out my survey, i was surprised to see some of the large differences in opinion on polygamy between sexes and between ages. For example, when asked if polygamy hurt women's rights, women were more neutral than men were. This surprised me because I expected women to be more able to relate to this question than men and to be more opinionated about this question.  Also, it was surprising to see differences by age. The discrepancies by age are seen, however, on levels of extremeness of opinion. The final part of my survey tested knowledge on Polygamy. I was surprised that so many who took the survey knew so little about polygamy. All together i was happy with my results and i find them very interesting.

Gender Based Results

So far I've given my survey to both of my parents. My most interesting results so far have been that my mom is more adamant about polygamy hurting people's rights, while my dad is not as adamant about it being immoral (though he does believe it is wrong). I believe that this is due to the fact that different genders have different perspectives on polygamy. I predict that a majority of the women who i give the survey to will be more against it then the men due to the fact that many believe that the practice of polygamy hurts women's rights.

Project Update

Due to my computer being reimaged today, I lost the survey I had made on polygamy. because of this I have to remake my survey. I had given it to a few people, however, the results were lost and i will be giving those people the survey again shortly .  I plan to also give the survey to my family (mom, dad, brother, cousins, grandparents etc.), friends, my brothers friends, and to a few family friends. I expect for the results to differ by age and by gender.

Quarter Two Survey Project

In my survey on the public opinion of polygamy I will be targeting the opinion of both males and females, of varying ages. I will be surveying high school aged males and females, college aged males and females, adult male and females, and senior citizens who are male and female. I will be asking my family, friends, and my parents coworkers. I plan on giving this survey over the course of Thanksgiving break. This survey will not only ask the public opinion of polygamy, but it will also ask what people associate polygamy with. For example, people usually associate polygamy with Mormonism. This survey will be a print survey. It will also be on a scale of 1-5, with one being strongly agree, and 5 being strongly disagree. I want to give this survey because it helps give insights on the public opinion of a controversial topic. 

Quarter Two

For the second quarter i want to use the research methods of a survey and archival. I want to use these to determine the public's opinion on polygamous marriage. Throughout my research the reactions of the people surprised me and I am very interested to see how different groups of people have different opinions on the matter. I will be using the method of the survey on different age, ethnic, and gender groups. The archival part of the research will be to see if there were any past studies done on a public reaction to polygamy.

Polygamy in Australia

This article discusses the issue of polygamy in Australia. It centers on the fact that many are asking that the marriages be legalized in the country and the response to these requests. The arguments made on behalf and in opposition of polygamy are logical, which surprised me. It was not approached as only a religious issue but also a logical issue, with financial stability being one of the main points for pro-polygamy laws. The article then goes on to discuss many other countries and their view on polygamy You can read the full article here.

Polygamy in Brazil

Today I read an article about a recent polygamous civil union in Brazil, between a man and two women. The article explained that while polygamous marriage is illegal in Brazil, the laws regarding a civil union never specified the amount of people allowed in a relationship. Many people in Brazil are outraged that this union has taken place and are demanding that the union be deemed illegal. This is partially due to the large influence of the Catholic Church in Brazil and in South America. However, some are in support of the union. Those who support it  believe that the government should not control our love life. I'm personally surprised that polygamy had such a harsh response here in comparison to the rest of the world. Brazil is the one country I have found to be passionate about the banning of polygamy. To read the full article click here.