What Is Marriage For?

In the wake of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's historic Goodridge decision, a reissue of the bible of the same-sex marriage movement Will same-sex couples destroy "traditional" marriage, soon to be followed by the collapse of all civilization? That charge has been leveled throughout history whenever the marriage rules change. But marriage, as E. J. Graff shows in this lively, fascinating tour through the history of marriage in the West, has always been a social battleground, its rules constantly shifting to fit each era and economy. The marriage debates have been especially tumultuous for the past hundred and fifty years-in ways that lead directly to today's debate over whether marriage could mean not just Boy + Girl = Babies, but also Girl + Girl = Love. "Read this book if you want to understand the movement for same-sex marriage-and to counter those who argue against it." -Mary Bonauto, lead counsel in Goodridge v. Mass. Dept. of Public Health "E. J. Graff's What Is Marriage For? is the place to start reading for anyone thinking about the words 'lesbian,''gay,'and 'marriage'in the same sentence. It's engaging, it's fun, and it puts the lie to those prophets of gloom and doom who think every push for greater equality-whether it be women's suffrage, reproductive rights, or interracial marriage-signals the end of civilization."-Evan Wolfson, Freedom to Marry "An enlightening romp through the history of marriage in western Europe and the U.S." -Cassandra West, Chicago Tribune

E. J. Graff is a journalist and writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Nation, Ms., Out, and elsewhere. She lives in the Boston area.