ABSTRACT
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of early Mormonism was the practice of polygamy, and in popular culture it remains one of the major defi ning points of being Mormon. While plural marriages have neither been practiced nor sanctioned in the Mormon Church for over a century, America is still fascinated by this marriage practice. Books such as John Krakauer’s 2004 bestseller Under the Banner of Heaven or television shows like HBO’s Big Love! keep the vision of Mormon polygamy in circulation, as do relatively frequent comic references to polygamy in movies and sitcoms.1 In contemporary representations, this specter of polygamy serves as a reminder of a Mormon past, an awareness of the transgressive sexual mores still associated with the Mormon Church, and a recognition of how much popular views on Mormon sexual politics have changed.
