Polygamy has become a flashpoint of conflict in the past thirty years as Western governments attempt to regulate certain cultural and religious practices that challenge seemingly central principles of family and justice. In Forbidden Intimacies, Melanie Heath investigates the regulation of polygamy in the United States, Canada, France, and Mayotte. These case studies illustrate a continuum of justice, in which some groups, like white fundamentalist Mormons in the United States, organize against the prohibition of their families' existence, whereas African migrants in France face racialized discrimination in addition to rigid migration policies. The matrix of legal and social contexts, informed by gender, race, sexuality, and class, shapes the everyday experiences of these relationships. What unites these families is their need for secrecy. As government intervention erodes their abilities to secure housing, welfare, work, and even protection from abuse, Health uncovers the ways in which intimacies framed as "other" serve to define the very limits of Western tolerance. By the same token, these varied intimacies hold the power to challenge heteronormative, Western ideals of love.
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