Rodger Streitmatter.\u00a0 Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen\u00a0Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples. Beacon Press, 2012. Hardcover. 224p. $26.95. 978-0-8070-0334-3.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nThe timing for this book could not be better with the eminent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding marriage equality in the country.\u00a0 In chronological order, Streitmatter profiles fifteen same-sex couples in which at least one partner achieved fame: Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle, Martha Carey Thomas and Mamie Gwinn, John Marshall and Ned Warren, Jane Addams and Mary Rozet Smith, Bessie Marbury and Elsie de Wolfe, J. C. Leyendecker and Charles Beach, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Solita Solano and Janet Flanner, Mercedes de Acosta and Greta Garbo, Aaron Copland and Victor Kraft, Tennessee Williams and Frank Merlo, James Baldwin and Lucien Happersberger, Robert Rauschenberf and Jasper Johns, James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, Frances Clayton and Audre Lorde.<\/p>\n
The author’s premise is that the extraordinary achievement of the better-known partner would not have been possible without the unacknowledged support of the other partner. Several chapters begin with some variation on \u201cFlanner wouldn’t have succeeded without the help she received from her same-sex partner.\u201d\u00a0 And several chapters conclude with a lament such as \u201cNone of the obituaries or numerous tributes that appeared in the nation’s major publications made any mention of\u00a0 Mercedes de Acosta.\u201d Streitmatter becomes a little tedious, especially when the couple were themselves hiding the relationship or it had already ended painfully.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the research and presentation of these marriages together is a great service that can expand our national re-evaluation of the meaning of marriage in our society.\u00a0 Outlaw Marriages would be an excellent discussion starter as it presents both successful and dysfunctional\u00a0 relationships and demonstrates that it is the couple, not the magistrate or preacher, who make a marriage.\u00a0 This book needs to be available in all libraries.<\/p>\n
Reviewer: Carolyn Caywood<\/strong>. Retired<\/p>\nVirginia Beach Public Library<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rodger Streitmatter.\u00a0 Outlaw Marriages: The Hidden Histories of Fifteen\u00a0Extraordinary Same-Sex Couples. Beacon Press, 2012. Hardcover. 224p. $26.95. 978-0-8070-0334-3.\u00a0 The timing for this book could not be better with the eminent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court regarding marriage equality in the country.\u00a0 In chronological order, Streitmatter profiles fifteen same-sex couples in which at least one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27,42,19],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1155\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.glbtrt.ala.org\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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