Semantic implications of polygamy in man's semantic system (case ‎study: polygamous men of Bavi's‎ county)‎

Subject Areas : Woman and Society

ALi feizolahi ¹ , zahra rezaeinasab ² , mona hamidi ³

1 - استادیار گروه علوم اجتماعی دانشگاه ایلام
2 - department of sociology, ilam university
3 - department of sociology and cultural studies , ilam university

Received: 2024-01-07 Accepted : 2024-12-21 Published : 2025-05-03

Keywords: &lrm, polygamy, polygamous men, remarriage, polygynous lived experience, Bavi&#039, s&lrm, county&lrm, .&lrm, ,

Abstract :

Purpose: Despite the slight decrease in the rate of marriage, childbearing and polygamous ‎marriages in Iranian society, the phenomenon of polygamy still continues. Therefore, this research ‎attempt to identify and explain the semantic implications of polygamy and the understanding and ‎interpretation of polygamy by men with multiple wives. ‎ Methods: The target population of the research are polygamous men living in Bavi's‎ county of ‎Khuzestan Province that 17 of them have been selected by using purposive sampling and with ‎theoretical saturation criteria and using in-depth interview tools to collect data. Data coding and ‎analysis was done by thematic analysis method and in order to identify themes, open and axial ‎coding method has been used.‎ Findings: After reading, re-reading, identifying and searching for patterns in the data, 114 ‎concepts, 28 sub-themes and 10 main themes were obtained, which are categorized into two ‎groups consisting of multiple semantic implications and consequences. The semantic implications ‎of polygamy include: cultural background, in the pursuit of well-being, Dissatisfaction with ‎‎previous marriage, Economic capability, Contingency marriage and The motivation of the joiner. ‎The consequences also include topics such as livelihood hardship, family disorder, psychological ‎vulnerability of family members and interference of others in life.‎ Conclusion: In general, the results show that the cultural context resulting from the religious and ‎cultural acceptance of polygamy, its normalization and normality in terms of society, has made it ‎possible for men to have more than one woman at the same time.