MV Lee Badgett
New York University Press

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It all started in Denmark in 1989, when same sex couples could register as partners. Many countries in Europe followed suit and in 2001 The Netherlands allowed same sex couples to marry. In the summer of 2008, three years after their Canadian cousins, thousands of same sex couples in the United States became legally married in California and Massachusetts. While Australians still have to go overseas to get hitched, even New Zealand has allowed civil unions since 2005. MV Lee Badgett compares the European and the US experiences, investigates the social, cultural and legal implications, and asks the big question – does marriage change gay and lesbian relationships?

In years gone by, marriage was an economic imperative for many and generally regarded as a social obligation to achieve adulthood. Now marriage is a matter of personal choice and some of the people interviewed for the book don’t actually agree with the concept of marriage. However Badgett makes the point that whether or not same sex couples want to get married, they should be allowed the choice so that their relationships are allocated the same importance. Europe is certainly leading the way, particularly with the number of alternatives to marriage that are available.

Badgett mixes personal accounts with her scholarly research to provide interesting insights about what happens in counties where marriage embraces same sex couples. The first person to email lezlyherbert@graffiti.net with ‘getting married’ in the subject line will win a copy of this book.

Lezly Herbert