If you were active on TikTok in 2022, you have most likely heard about the Mormon MomTok swinging scandal. For those of you who don’t know about it, this was a viral situation involving moms and wives living in Mormon Utah. Taylor Frankie Paul was at the center of it. She and her husband had cheating scandals already, so Paul went on TikTok live to discuss the rumors. However, during the live, the conversation went well past her and her husband. She brought up the “soft swinging” that occurred at many parties they hosted and attended. Swinging is a term that means swapping sexual partners within a larger group, i.e. engaging in sexual relations with another woman’s husband while that woman engaged in those same relations with your husband.
The reason this scandal was so big was not only because it involved swinging, but because they discussed it within the context of the Mormon community. Mormonism is a religious and cultural group that differs from traditional Christian practices and beliefs. Having sexual relations with anyone other than your life partner, including swinging, is considered sinful by the Mormon church. The scandal became all about who was part of the “swinging” and, more importantly, who had gone against Mormon rules.
Because the scandal made headlines, Hulu decided to make a docuseries about it and its effect on the moms involved: “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.” The first episode aired on Sept. 6. The show follows Paul and seven other Mormon moms, all part of the so-called “MomTok” (a name they made for themselves). MomTok, as described by the moms involved, is a community on TikTok where the Mormon moms could have fun, be independent and show that they aren’t just their religion. The show dives into the future of MomTok following the viral swinging scandal.
When discussing the worth of the show, we must break it down into two separate categories, entertainment and religion. As an avid reality television viewer, it was not the best I’ve seen. If you were invested with the drama when the scandal first blew up on TikTok, then you will appreciate getting the follow up, as well as the general continuation of the drama within the show. The show has plenty of drama, but it is lacking in the fundamental aspect that all reality television must have in order to be generally entertaining: interest. If you were not already invested in these moms, it wouldn’t be something to stick with.
Thinking about the religious aspect of this show, however, is much more important. This show titularly suggests that Mormonism is a major part of the show and the moms’ lives. This could be debated. While Mormonism is a clear part of these moms’ community, it is not necessarily an accurate depiction of typical Mormonism. The reality is many of these moms do not actually practice a majority of Mormon rituals. This is an interesting aspect of the show to investigate, as they seem to be marketing themselves as super-Mormons that shock the internet by being sex positive and feminist, but are actually just looking to make money off of the religion and the infamous nature of it.
Many could argue that they don’t have to follow all of the rules in order to be Mormon, to which they would be correct. That isn’t the issue in this circumstance though, as these moms aren’t just picking and choosing which rules to follow. They are actively profiting off of the scandal of telling the world they are Mormon and progressive. However, they happen to be breaking the rules a lot farther than just being progressive, to the extent that it’s a wonder they consider themselves Mormon at all. There are multiple clips of the women drinking, swearing and even getting tattoos, all of which are not considered categorically progressive actions. They could be progressive without taking these actions, and that doesn’t even approach the aspect of swinging. While it is still unclear exactly who was involved in the swinging, having sexual relations outside of marriage is a fundamental sin within Mormonism, and combined with all of the unnecessary rulebreaks, makes this viewer question the legitimacy of their claims to Mormonism.
Through reading this, one may ask: what is the point? Why do we as a society need to be so invested in whether or not these women are accurately representing Mormons? Why can’t it just be reality television?
The answer to all of those questions would involve the access these women have to society. They aren’t just doing all of this in their community, but are actively showing people around the world, through social media, this idea of Mormonism. This is harmful because many people don’t do research when they see a depiction of something on social media. Mormonism is a religion and a culture, one that doesn’t support most of the actions taken by these moms, and it isn’t okay that some people will get this idea of Mormonism just because these moms are exploiting it for money.