When Gay People Get Married: What Happens When Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Author: M. V. Lee Badgett
Publisher: New York University Press
Category: Gender Studies, Gender Groups, Gay & Lesbian Studies, Lesbian Studies, Gay Studies (Gay Men), Sociology: Family & Relationships, Gender & The Law, Family Law: Marriage & Divorce
Book Format: Paperback

Winner of the 2010 Distinguished Book Award from the American Psychological Association's 44th Division (the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues)
The summer of 2008 was the summer of love and commitment for gays and lesbians in the United States. Thousands of same-sex couples stood in line for wedding licenses all over California in the first few days after same-sex marriage was legalized. On the other side of the country, Massachusetts, the very first state to give gay couples marriage rights, took the last step to full equality by allowing same-sex couples from other states to marry there as well. These happy times for same-sex couples were the hallmark of true equality for some, yet others questioned whether the very bedrock of society was crumbling. What would this new step portend?
In order to find out the impact of same-sex marriage, M. V. Lee Badgett traveled to a land where it has been legal for same-sex couples to marry since 2001: the Netherlands. Badgett interviews gay couples to find out how this step has affected their lives. We learn about the often surprising changes to their relationships, the reactions of their families, and work colleagues. Moreover, Badgett is interested in the ways that the institution itself has been altered for the larger society. How has the concept of marriage changed? When Gay People Get Married gives readers a primer on the current state of the same-sex marriage debate, and a new way of framing the issue that provides valuable new insights into the political, social, and personal stakes involved.
The experiences of other countries and these pioneering American states serve as a crystal ball as we grapple with this polarizing issue in the American context. The evidence shows both that marriage changes gay people more than gay people change marriage, and that it is the most liberal countries and states making the first move to recognize gay couples. In the end, Badgett compellingly shows that allowing gay couples to marry does not destroy the institution of marriage and that many gay couples do benefit, in expected as well as surprising ways, from the legal, social, and political rights that the institution offers.

Table Of Contents
Acknowledgments 1 Introduction: A Different Perspective 2 Why Marry? The Value of Marriage 3 Forsaking All Other Options 4 The Impact of Gay Marriage on Heterosexuals 5 Something Borrowed: Trying Marriage On 6 Something New: Will Marriage Change Gay People? 7 Marriage Dissent in the Gay Community 8 Strange Bedfellows: Assessing Alternatives to Marriage 9 The Pace of Change: Are We Moving Too Fast? 10 Conclusion: Marriage Under Renovation? Appendix 1: Constructing Measures and Making Comparisons Appendix 2: Methods Involved in the Dutch Couples Study Notes Index About the Author
About M. V. Lee Badgett
M. V. Lee Badgett is Professor of Economics and director of the Center for Public Policy & Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and also serves as research director of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law. She is the author of Money, Myths, and Change: The Economic Lives of Lesbians and Gay Men and co-editor of Sexual Orientation Discrimination: An International Perspective.

(BK-9780814709306)

SKU BK-9780814709306
Barcode # 9780814709306
Brand New York University Press
Artist / Author M. V. Lee Badgett
Shipping Weight 0.4300kg
Shipping Width 0.150m
Shipping Height 0.020m
Shipping Length 0.230m
Assembled Length 15.200m
Assembled Height 22.900m
Assembled Width 2.000m
Type Paperback

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