Who Should Put a Ring on It?

A Modest Proposal for Rethinking ‘Will You Marry Me?’—And What True Egalitarianism Might Look Like

Over 20 years ago, I covered my face with my hands and shyly told my (now) husband, “I’m moving away for graduate school and I’d love you to go with me, but I want us to be married first.” After he agreed that it seemed like a great idea, we shopped together for an engagement ring before he chose one of the two I had liked best. He offered it to me from one knee a couple of months later in a “surprise” engagement. As a wife, I tell others …

by Amanda Jayne Miller | February 13, 2023

Who’s Left Out of the New American Mainstream?

The Diversification of Families, Universities, and Even Upper-Level Jobs Obscures How the Prospects of Black Americans Are Stagnating

by Richard Alba | September 21, 2020

At a moment when the eyes of the nation are fixed on Black Lives Matter and the anti-racism struggle, it may seem odd to call attention to quiet breaches of …

How Mail-Order Spouses Helped Settle America

Ever Since the 'Tobacco Brides' of Jamestown, Government-Led 'Partner Redistribution' Has Eased Male Loneliness and Expanded Women's Freedom

by Marcia Zug | September 28, 2018

The history of government-sponsored matchmaking in the United States is a long one, with roots in the very founding of the colonies. In his account of life in the early …

In Choosing to Be Cherokee, She Was Forced to Renounce the U.S.

Until 1930, American Women Like Harriett Gold Lost Their Citizenship When They Married Foreign Nationals, Even If Those “Foreigners” Were Native Americans

By Ann McGrath | July 28, 2016

Mixed couples in the United States—those who crossed boundaries between Indian Nations and the European newcomers—left permanent legacies well beyond the families they created. They also shaped the meaning of …

What Do Gay Marriage and Obamacare Have in Common?

Two Cases Before the Supreme Court Point to the Long-Running Battle Between States Rights and Federal Authority

by Andrés Martinez | June 15, 2015

I don’t drink champagne, but if the Supreme Court strikes down state bans on gay marriages this month, I might pop open a bottle in celebration. As a newspaper editorial …

Why the American Family Needs Same-Sex Parents

Data Shows That the Country’s Most Vulnerable Kids Will Benefit If the Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gay Marriage

by Gary J. Gates | April 21, 2015

On April 28th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in an omnibus case about whether same-sex couples are allowed to marry in all 50 states in this country. …

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