Sister+Wives

**//Sister Wives//****: A Summary** In September of 2010, an unscripted reality series titled //Sister Wives,// premiered on the television network, TLC (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). //Sister Wives,// currently in its second season, follows a polygamist family from Utah. Kody Brown, the patriarch of the family, is legally married to one woman, but also lives with three other women whom he also calls his “spouses” (Effron, 2011). When faced with the decision of whether or not they wanted to take their polygamist lifestyle public, Kody and his four wives saw this opportunity as a blessing rather than a curse. “The polygamist society tends to be fairly closed. We figured that just by being an example of that, by showing our lives, we’d actually help the society be more transparent, and have other people in the lifestyle feel safer about being transparent” (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). Despite leading a hectic life of keeping one large communal house in order, managing sixteen children’s schedules, and balancing four wives, The Brown family decided to invite cameras into their home to dispel any misconceptions the public may have had about a polygamist family. Forty-one year old Kody Brown (Nelson, 2011) was raised by monogamous Mormon parents but at the age of twenty-one, decided to convert to fundamental Mormonism (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). He explains that his marriage is a part of “a faith that embraces a lifestyle. In fact, it recommends it and likes to reward good behavior. So if you’re good with one marriage, they figure you’ll be good with two. I hope they think I’ll be good with f our” (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). Kody Brown has four wives: Meri, Janelle,Christine, and hisnewest wife, Robyn. While not all of the wives were raised in polygamist families themselves, many of them knew that one day they would like to be a “sister wife.” “Sister Wives” is a coin termed by many polygamist families that “refers to a husband’s multiple marital partners” (Nelson, 2011). Janelle, Kody’s second wife stated, “If you marry into a polygamist family, you’re not just marrying your husband, you’re marrying the family. […] That’s what I wanted,” (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). Across the state of Utah and in the Western U.S., there are an estimated 38,000 fundamental Mormons who continue to practice this belief (Dobner, 2010). So, the Brown family is not alone. Although Kody has four “spouses” he is only legally married to his first wife, Meri. Meri and Kody met twenty years ago. Seventeen years ago, Meri introduced Kody to a woman named Janelle, who later became his second wife. Sixteen years ago, Kody met Christine, his third wife, and just about a year ago, Kody added his fourth and final wife into the family, Robyn (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). Additionally, each wife and Kody have their own children. Meri and Kody have one child, Janelle and Kody have six children, Christine and Kody also have six children, and Robyn introduced three children into the Brown family from a previous marriage (Seidman, 2010). With four wives, one father figure, and sixteen children ages one to sixteen, the Brown household is surely a busy one. **Sexual Communication & Controversies Surrounding the Brown Family** When the Brown family decided to go on national television, this was the first time that many of the family’s close friends and family had heard about their lifestyle. Including the shock among their family and friends, the Utah police also had their own opinions about the family. Police in Lehi, Utah, the family’s former hometown, launched into an investigation of the Brown family’s lifestyle after the first episode of //Sister Wives// aired on TLC (Effron, 2010). Utah state police investigated for possible charges of bigamy. Bigamy, a third-degree felony in the state of Utah, is punishable by up to five years in prison and is defined in the state law as the following, “A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he has a husband or wife or knowing that the other person has a husband of wife, the person purports to marry another person or cohabits with another person” (Effron, 2011). In a public statement, the Brown family said, “When we decided to do this show, we knew there would be risks. But for the sake of our family, and most importantly, our kids, we felt it was a risk worth taking” (Dobner, 2010). Now in their second season of the show, the Brown family has learned a lot about themselves as individuals but also as a family unit. With such a controversial family dynamic, the Browns are bound to run into situations that most families would never need to even think about. One of the most important strengths of the Brown family, according to the wives, is their strength in communication skills. Kody stated that having cameras around their family 24/7 has actually made their family more “functional” and he also stated that although it has been very emotional work, “the family is communicating well now” (Effron, 2011). Communication, both about general topics as well as personal/intimate topics between the couples has been a hurdle that the family has overcome and surpassed. One hot topic in interviews of the couples is how their family dynamic allows them to “share” one husband. Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn have assured their viewers that although they may share a husband, at home their personal space “is premium” (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). In the Fundamental Mormon religion, there are definite and rigid rules about dating in a polygamist household. For one, Kody stated that “fooling around” with women outside of the marriage is “absolutely taboo” and he also clarified that in polygamist relationships there is absolutely no sex before marriage (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). However, the wives must be comfortable allowing Kody to date or “court” other women if he so pleases. For this reason, the addition of the newest wife, Robyn caused quite a ruckus in the family unit early on in their relationship. When it comes to physical space, each family has their own separate living quarters but they are all connected under one roof. Janelle describes this as “Separate living spaces but interconnected. So the family functions as a whole, but we all have our own autonomy” (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). This living situation seems to mimic the communication patterns in the family. While each family operates as their own, they all function as a whole because of their open communication style. As stated previously, sexual communication is also very important among a family who essentially “shares” or splits their time with their husband. When it comes to personal/sexual matters, the family is very quiet. However, they do explain that Kody has a schedule of where he sleeps each night, and that he rotates every three nights between each wife’s bedroom. Each wife has her own bedroom and Kody makes sure that he spends equal time with each woman (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). Therefore, sexual communication is vital to the health of these relationships. Openness and trust are two essential ingredients to this unconventional relationship and these two strengths are what makes the Brown family such effective communicators. **The Future for the Brown Family** Although the investigation is still underway, The Brown family is under the impression that state officials are not looking to press any charges. Since 1882, polygamy has been considered a felony, formerly compared to slavery. In fact, practitioners used to face fines and prison, or were even forbidden to vote or serve in public office (Ravitz, 2010). In the state of Utah, however, although bigamy is illegal, many officials do not take an active stance on the issue. “In the past, state officials have made it clear to polygamous families in Utah that they would not proceed against them absent evidence of some collateral crime such as child abuse. No such crimes were found in the Brown family after an extensive field investigation” (Nelson, 2011). Although it seems that the Brown family is in the clear for the time being, Kody, his four wives, and sixteen children packed up and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to pursue new opportunities. When asked what we could look forward to in season two of //Sister Wives// as well as the future of the Brown family, Robyn stated that she wanted to have children of her own with Kody. Additionally, all four of the wives clarified that they are happy with their current family dynamic and they do not see themselves adding any more wives into the family in the near future (The Oprah Winfrey Show, 2010). For now, the family is focused on continuing their lifestyle of raising strong, driven, and family-oriented children as well as misspelling any rumors or misconceptions about their polygamist lifestyle.
 * Sister Wives **

Dobner, J. (2010, September 29). “Sister Wives” Family Investigated for Bigamy. Retrieved from [|http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39418047/ns/today-entertainment/#] Effron, L. (2011, March 7). “Sister Wives” Family on Going Public: “We Knew What the Risks Were.” Retrieved from [] Nelson, J. (2011, January 21). “Sister Wives” Family Moves from Utah to Nevada. Retrieved from [] Ravitz, J. (2010, October 25). “Sister Wives” Explained: A Fundamentalist Mormon Polygamy Primer. Retrieved from [] Seidman, R. (2010, August 6). [|Love Is All In The Family on TLC's New Series 'Sisters Wives' Premiering Sunday, September 26]. Retrieved from [] “Sister Wives” Herd Round, We’re on TV! Retrieved from [] Sister Wives Synopsis. (2010, October 10). Retrieved from [] The New Polygamist Stars of Late Night TV. (2010, September 22). Retrieved from [] The Oprah Winfrey Show. (2010, October 14). Inside the Lives of a Polygamist Family. Retrieved from []