A missionary in Honduras told my group that among the lower class there,

[raccoon]

it is typical for the men to stay with one woman and have several kids, then move on to another woman. There are many single-parents (i.e., just the mother) families.

This pattern seems to occur a lot among the underclass in the US as well. What’s the explanation? Especially those DU’ers who have a background in sociology/social work, please post.

[fasttense]

1. Is this pattern any different from the males at the top 1% in the US?

If you follow the tabloids, you notice that rich men have a starter wife, have several children then move on to a younger, prettier wife, and have several more children. The only difference is that the now richer starter wives frequently remarry. But the poorer women seem to not remarry.

[endarkenment]

2. shush now them elites have fambly values

and they prove it over and over again by having so many famblies.

[OneGrassRoot]

7. This is one of those interesting "perspective" things...

Perhaps it's only when the male leaves one family and isn't providing support that it frames this discussion; leaving a family but providing alimony/child support and then starting over to create another family doesn't seem to merit the same disdain or entry in statistics.

[HamdenRice]

3. The only difference is going through legal marriage and legal divorce

It's not a class issue at all. It's called "serial monogamy." The only class difference is that the poor often don't go through the legalities of marriage and divorce.

[shireen]

4. is that true?

I'm not a sociologist, but never got that impression of so-called "underclass" in the US. Their main problem seems to be a lack of opportunity and community support to make a better life for themselves. Perhaps living in that environment makes them feel defeated and discouraged, so some negative social trends emerge, but I'm not sure if wife-hopping is one of 'em.

Many of us are very fortunate; we were born into an environment that allowed us to continue a comfortable life. The odds for someone living in poverty to break out of that life is not so good, esp. in the Bush economy. We need to change that. Happy people = Healthy Community. Such a simple formula, so why is it so hard to implement?!

[La Lioness Priyanka]

5. there could be hundreds of reason but mostly that we dont care if rich men leaves their wives

because they can financially support the kids

so we notice when the poor do.

i assume there are more reasons, hopelessness, poverty etc

poverty isnt good for family values. someone should teach the republicans that. poverty adds many more stresses to a marriage.

[NNN0LHI]

6. Sounds exactly like Rudolph Giuliani

But he is an upper class religious man.

Something is funny here.

Don

[SoCalDem]

8. Serial monogamy happens when the women move on too

When women have children, they usually need some help raising them.. After a few kids, if it becomes apparent that the guy's not pulling his weight, if there's a suitable man in the wings, women will bolt as well.. The sad fact is though, the "second" man often mistreats the kids she brings to the new "alliance"..

The only "difference" I see between the classes is this. Poorer people tend to keep on having children, even after they know the relationship is dust.. perhaps it's because the newness of a baby, might either dull the pain of the dead relationship, or provide hope that the relationship might be "healed".. 99% of the time, it just means there's another mouth to feed, and the family gets poorer and unhappier.

[endarkenment]

9. A missionary in Honduras

would be somebody attempting to convince the indigenous peoples, probably the Lencas, to give up their remaining cultural traditions. Feh.

[EFerrari]

10. The men follow the work in agrarian societies?

The women stay put on the farm or plantation, and the men stay until the crop is in and then move on to find more work.

[donsu]

11. in US among many groups of men, having children proves manhood

the more baby mommas a man has, the bigger the man.

[nashville_brook]

12. the answer is in the question -- men leave when they can't provide for a family

especially in patriarchal societies.

[raccoon]

13. Thank you. That makes sense. nt

[iamthebandfanman]

14. haha, and all this time

i thought my dad left me as a kid cause he wanted a piece of new ass ;)


ohh wait, that is why. definitely wasnt cause he couldnt provide, he had a great job ... and left us with nothing but debt.

[End Of The Road]

16. Not the case in Honduras

In Honduras, among the rural "underclass", it is socially acceptable for men to have more than one wife, but they are expected to provide for ALL of their children. Social customs make it difficult for them to move on if they can't provide.

[EFerrari]

17. That's actually a little backwards.

I was researching El Salvador around 1930. About sixty per cent of all kids were born out of wedlock to moms who lived on plantations. The men would stay for the season and then move on when the season was over. They left to find work, not because they couldn't "provide" for a nuclear family. (And remember, in Honduras, family structure is extended, not nuclear.) Sometimes the men would come back at the same time the following season or, alternately, these women would find new partners.

[sinkingfeeling]

15. There is a crisis in Honduras, but it's a lot worse than having single-parent families.

http://www.honduranchildren.com/crisis.html

The combination of massive unemployment, a national health crisis, little government support for education, healthcare or social services, and lingering devastation from Hurricane Mitch has only worsened the situation. The result is a cycle of poverty and crime that's almost impossible to break without direct intervention. Thousands of children are abandoned, impoverished or orphaned, many living on the streets or in conditions most Canadians would find unimaginable.

[iamthebandfanman]

18. i really think there is no class involved

im sorry but i think this happens across the board no matter what the financial situation of the man or the family.
statistically it may appear to happen more in lower class families, but thats probably because there are more lower class families than there are upper class families.