'A Marriage of Inconvenience?' Feminist Perspectives on Marriage

A key aim of this special feature is to broaden feminist discussions of marriage by bringing the personal (and political) perspectives and experiences of heterosexualfeminists (and their male partners) to the debate. This special feature consists of ten contributions: six written by heterosexual couples who are either married or contemplating marriage, and four written by heterosexual feminists offering their personal perspectives on marriage. The papers are varied in their focus; however, some common themes emerge across them: that marriage is not undertaken lightly, that feminist critiques of marriage and its heterosexual privileges are of great concern to the contributors, and that feminism has a very real place in their lived experience of marriage. The co-authored contributions do not simply provide an unrestrained celebration of marriage; rather they indicate the struggles that married feminists undergo in choosing to participate in an institution that is both the heart of heterosexual privilege and the heart of heterosexual women’s, lesbians’ and gay men’s oppression. At the same time, the single authored pieces offer substantial challenges to conventional understandings of marriage and ‘the couple’ – challenges that must be answered