Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage
Subtitle: Valuing All Families under the Law
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: February 6, 2008
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 256
ISBN-13: 9780807044322
Subjects: Cultural studies; Law; Gender Studies; Family Law - Marriage; Gay Studies; Non-Classifiable; Social Science / Gay Studies; Family Law - General; Marriage; Domestic partner benefits; Law and legislation; Legal status, laws, etc.; Same-sex marriage; United States; Unmarried couples
Description: The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage boldly moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LGBT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter and those that don't. A woman married to a man for nine months is entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits when he dies; a woman living for nineteen years with a man or woman to whom she is not married receives nothing. Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Unmarried couples of any sexual orientation, single-parent households, extended family units, and myriad other familial configurations need recognition and protection to meet the concerns they all share: building and sustaining economic and emotional interdependence, and nurturing the next generation.