I'm also going to throw my hat in for yes, but it will greatly vary dependent on where you go. Some areas are fine with polygamy itself, but strongly against cheating. Some places cheating is fairly commonplace, but polygamy is weird. Most places frown a bit on both.
However polygamy [Easier to type for me, sorry if its not completely correct in this context] is something that people don't understand, whilst cheating is.
When someone cheats, there's a clear right and wrong, and someone has to get upset, and punish the cheater in some way. Its glorified in soap operas and dramas, and everyone can understand the intent behind it - something isn't quite working out with your normal partner, so you go behind their back and see someone else at the same time. A lot of people see it as secret polygamy in some ways - people are known to love both the person they're cheating on, and the person they're cheating with at times. However its accepted because it fits in with general society's morals. Or. Well. The punishment for it does.
Polygamy isn't understood in the same way. Everyone is aware its going on, and we've been trained for years that if your partner is sleeping with someone else, its cheating and you need to crack down on it. Most people also only know their own experiences, and feel they should only love one person as that's how they've been bought up, and can't understand loving another member of the same gender as well as their chosen husband/wife [Since in most places its only legal to have one]. This makes things really weird for judging polygamy, as its something that not only do people not understand, but they further have trouble understanding it as not cheating. The expect there to be conflict, and then a resolution, not everyone being all chummy about it. And because reality does not meet with their expectations, or what they can even comprehend, they shun it. Cheating is half shunned. Its seen as bad, but its understood, and you can still get on the victim's side and support them. In Polygamy, the 'victim' from some people's view point, isn't someone you can get on the side of. You can't approve of their actions and chastise their partner. You may want to, but the relationship is different.
So, by and large, I think yes, cheating is more socially acceptable than polygamy [Again going to re-iterate that I'm just using this as its easier to type and its really late at night so its going to be a pain for me to change them all], because its more understood.
Should it be? No. Cheating should be shunned to hell and back, and polygamy should be viewed as fine, at least IMO. However, we've been trained to have it the other way around. Movies, TV shows, books - they glorify cheating as this juicy bit of drama, and after the drama everyone moves on because its a movie/book/tv show and that's what happens. Polygamy is tied more to religious cults and ancient practices, and isn't even shown on TV most of the time. We've been trained to see relationships as only possible between two individuals, and to see cheating as something that happens fairly often and isn't as big a deal as it in some ways should be. The sad truth of society where 'fitting in' is more important than adult consent sometimes.
However polygamy [Easier to type for me, sorry if its not completely correct in this context] is something that people don't understand, whilst cheating is.
When someone cheats, there's a clear right and wrong, and someone has to get upset, and punish the cheater in some way. Its glorified in soap operas and dramas, and everyone can understand the intent behind it - something isn't quite working out with your normal partner, so you go behind their back and see someone else at the same time. A lot of people see it as secret polygamy in some ways - people are known to love both the person they're cheating on, and the person they're cheating with at times. However its accepted because it fits in with general society's morals. Or. Well. The punishment for it does.
Polygamy isn't understood in the same way. Everyone is aware its going on, and we've been trained for years that if your partner is sleeping with someone else, its cheating and you need to crack down on it. Most people also only know their own experiences, and feel they should only love one person as that's how they've been bought up, and can't understand loving another member of the same gender as well as their chosen husband/wife [Since in most places its only legal to have one]. This makes things really weird for judging polygamy, as its something that not only do people not understand, but they further have trouble understanding it as not cheating. The expect there to be conflict, and then a resolution, not everyone being all chummy about it. And because reality does not meet with their expectations, or what they can even comprehend, they shun it. Cheating is half shunned. Its seen as bad, but its understood, and you can still get on the victim's side and support them. In Polygamy, the 'victim' from some people's view point, isn't someone you can get on the side of. You can't approve of their actions and chastise their partner. You may want to, but the relationship is different.
So, by and large, I think yes, cheating is more socially acceptable than polygamy [Again going to re-iterate that I'm just using this as its easier to type and its really late at night so its going to be a pain for me to change them all], because its more understood.
Should it be? No. Cheating should be shunned to hell and back, and polygamy should be viewed as fine, at least IMO. However, we've been trained to have it the other way around. Movies, TV shows, books - they glorify cheating as this juicy bit of drama, and after the drama everyone moves on because its a movie/book/tv show and that's what happens. Polygamy is tied more to religious cults and ancient practices, and isn't even shown on TV most of the time. We've been trained to see relationships as only possible between two individuals, and to see cheating as something that happens fairly often and isn't as big a deal as it in some ways should be. The sad truth of society where 'fitting in' is more important than adult consent sometimes.