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The portrayal of Mormon polygamy in the media, particularly with themes of escape and rescue in reality television programs Escaping the Prophet and Escaping Polygamy, has become a growing trend over the past three decades, according to gender studies professor Brenda Weber. And how these portrayals are intertwined with gender politics in society is an important facet of these projections.

Weber, a department chair and professor of gender studies, presented her research, “Mediated Mormon Polygamy and the Recalibrated Rescue,” as part of the Media School’s weekly Narrative Media Arts and Science Colloquium Sept. 9.

Weber made note of various portrayals and representations of Mormonism and polygamy in modern media. They have proven to be thriving topics of interest, she said, in programs like Sister Wives and Big Love.

Media changes and coverage in the past 20 to 30 years have been of particular interest to Weber in her research.

“Radical change in media has opened a set of possibilities for representation and its relation to gender and social justice that never quite existed like this before,” she said.

She analyzed the example of Flora Jessop, a former polygamist’s wife and star of TLC’s 2014 series Escaping the Prophet. Weber outlined Jessop’s attempts to end child abuse in polygamous cults.

“Since escaping [former Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints president] Warren Jeffs’ clutches herself, Flora has been a media darling,” Weber said, noting how Jessop has used the media in her “holy war against the ‘prophet.’”

Weber cited A&E’s Escaping Polygamy as an additional example of feminist theory in polygamy as portrayed in the media. She argued that these programs are feminist-friendly in their portrayal of showing women fighting power, escaping abusive patriarchal figures and taking on issues of gaining a voice and representation.

“These are all well traveled roads in feminist theory,” she said.

A quick question and answer session allowed audience members to ask more information about the ties between media portrayals of Mormonism and feminism.

“I was really interested in hearing your description of Flora as a holy war against the prophet, given your notion that Mormonism ideology is what is feminist,” an audience member said. “Does she use Mormonism itself to actually assist in getting everyone out of the compound? Does that play a part in any way?”

“Both programs actually do—Escaping Polygamy and Escaping the Prophet—not so much the mainstream version of Mormonism, but the kind of schooling and ideological learning that they experienced as young women on the compound,” Weber said.

Weber’s talk drew on her work for her upcoming book, Latter-day Screens: Gender, Modernity, and Mediated Mormonism. It’s set to be published in 2018 by Duke University Press.