The Dhivehi Thing

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I grew up in various places, true... but I was confronted with my Maldivian upbringing a couple of days back, in a rather weird manner. I mean, I hadn't ever considered myself typical, in the sense that our generation has had various benefits that lessen culture shock, you know the worlds a smaller place now, global community blah blah blah...you get what I'm talking about dontcha?
If you don't, then feel free to crawl back under whichever rock that you obviously didn't really mean to navigate away from.
Anyway, I was having a conversation with some friends recently and the topic somehow wavered to the shock and horror that someone they knew had gotten married to some one 50 years older, as a second wife. And, was playing stepmother to people her own age.
SHOCK. HORROR.
At least that's what they expected from me. Probably because I often have strong opinions on people's rights and certain aspects of morality and what not.
Unfortunately for them, I sat there, rather indifferent to their story, waiting for the punchline. Apparently that WAS the punchline.
But after you grow up in Male' , that isn't even a remotely interesting story at all.
I followed their brief expectant silence with 'So?' to only be bombarded with accusations of agreeing with that lifestyle and women's rights and was even accused of being a chauvinist. I mean, really? *cocks an eyebrow*
During this rather boring tirade, I reflected on how much a 'Maldivian' this reaction made me. I mean, I have a million and a half of those stories in my own family... why would this be a big deal to me? And even more than that, I can imagine how much an event could take place, how it needn't necessarily be a gold digger story, to the event that it would be... and how that would affect the family. It really isn't a point of judgment for me any more.
Why is polygamy such a big No No for westerners.. its the equivalent of a Muslim unmarried couple living together (in terms of our world anyway) I mean... So? If they can be so very open minded about everything else, why won't they consider the possibility of that being a successful relationship?
DON'T MISUNDERSTAND ME... I am NOT an advocate for polygamy at all. That said, I CAN accept it as readily as I can accept people living together, having sex and partying hard... its a life choice, and it is not necessarily some sort of sick thing. How is it possible to accept the concept of a ménage à trois and condemn a polygamous marriage? Again, not that it is the same thing, but certainly it is strange, no? Neither is a typical, yet one is judged far more harshly.
Perhaps it all comes down to slamming everything even close to Saudi Arabian culture. In which case, I'd like to point out that that is not where this social construct originates from, nor is it the only society in which it could be found. To suggest a more recent example, the common situation in Victorian England where there would be the wife, the husband and the mistress in full awareness of each other. It is more or less the same thing, as the husband usually had full lives with each other, often procreating with the mistress as well. And you'd still see this happening today, isn't it?
Anyway, I'm going into far more detail than I intended. Basically just another western hypocrisy.
All I have to say to my friends is.. *yawn*... I've heard it all :P I'm a Maldivian, I DARE you to come up with a social construct I haven't seen. :p Other than, a normal functional family that is ;)