153: Dr. Janet Bennion - Living Among Mormon Fundamentalist Polygamy as an Anthropologist

Mormon Stories Podcast

Dr. John Dehlin

Religion & Spirituality

4.5 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2010

⏱️ 73 minutes

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Summary

Janet Bennion is an associate professor of anthropology, specializing in alternative sexuality in nontraditional religious movements in the Intermountain West, specifically among Mormon fundamentalist polygynists. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from University of Utah and a Masters in Social Organization from Portland State University. Her doctoral expertise lies in cross-cultural perspectives of sexuality, gender and society, and women of the fundamentalist world. Her scientific publications include two major ethnographic works and two comparative analyses of Mormon polygynous women, as well as many peer-review journal articles. Women of Principle: Female Networking in Contemporary Mormon Polygyny (Oxford University Press 1998) offers an in-depth study of gender roles and sexual norms in the Apostolic United Brethren sect in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana, cataloging women's conversion stories. This ethnography shows that while abuses do exist, some women achieve ironic ascendance and satisfaction in fundamentalism. Desert Patriarchy (University of Arizona Press 2004) presents her theory explaining the role of the desert environment (Chihuahua, Mexico) in the development and maintenance of a patriarchal gender ideology. Her model identifies several factors -- male supremacy, female network, non-secular education, imbalanced sex ratios, alternative sexuality, and circumscription -- which work to facilitate the longevity of desert patriarchal communities.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Mormon Stories podcast takes a ton of work and depends solely upon the listener's support.
0:05.0	To keep this program alive, please consider a donation today at MormonStories.org.
0:18.0	Dr. Janet Benyon, thank you for joining us today on Mormon Stories.
0:22.0	It's good to be here.
0:24.0	For our listeners,
0:27.0	Janet is a full professor of anthropology and the former chair of the Social Sciences Department at Lyndon State College.
0:34.0	She has her PhD in anthropology from the University of Utah.
0:40.0	She also has a Master's in Social Anthropology from Portland State University.
0:44.0	And we would be remiss to not mention that she is an Aggie, a former Aggie or a current Aggie, which you consider yourself.
0:52.0	Always an Aggie.
0:53.0	Once an Aggie, always an Aggie.
0:56.0	Yes, now Dr. Benyon is also the author of several books and chapters and articles.
1:04.0	The three that I'll mention are evaluating the effects of polygamy on women and children,
1:10.0	which was published in 2008 by Edwin Mellon Press.
1:14.0	Desert patriarchy, gender dynamics in the Chihuahua Valley, published by the University of Arizona Press in March 2004.
1:22.0	And women of principal female networking in contemporary Mormon polygamy, which is an oxford university press publication from 1998.
1:33.0	So you are a specialist in modern polygamy, is that right?
1:37.0	Yes, that's right.
1:39.0	The National Geographic said, I don't know where they got this information,
1:45.0	but they said about four years ago in one of their articles that I was the National Anthropological Specialist on contemporary Mormon fundamentalist polygamy.
1:56.0	And what that means is for those of you who don't know what polygamy is, it's a more specific term for what we call polygamy.
2:05.0	Polygamy is the umbrella term and you have polygamy, which is one man marrying several women or polyandry, which is one woman marrying several men.
	...

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