lol @me commenting a month late, but actual examples of culturally practiced fraternal polyandry (such as in Tibetan mountain peoples) aren't all that kind to women and children. For one thing, it reverses the gender-balance dynamic of polygyny, leaving many women without husbands. For another, women aren't actually granted more rights; it's a patriarchal property rights relationship, not a matriarchal relationship. The net effect of fraternal polyandry is that women are stuck caring for the domestic and sexual needs of a large number of men, only some of whom (if any) they may actually have an emotional relationship with, and some of whom will be highly inappropriate in terms of domestic partnership due to being far too young or too old. In return, women aren't granted any additional rights and don't gain status in society. In one article I've read on the subject, women that don't marry actually consider themselves superior to their married sisters because they have significantly more freedom. Basically, it's not really much better for the position of women or children than polygyny is, it's just (slightly) differently sucky.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-01-01 01:42 pm (UTC)