Boston marriage

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Boston marriage was a term used in the 19th century for households where two women lived together, independent of any male support. Whether these were lesbian relationships — in the sexual sense — is debated. The likelihood is that some were and some were not. Today, the term is sometimes used when referring to two women living together who are not in a sexual relationship. Such a relationship may have intimacy and commitment, without passion.

1 Origins of the term
2 Modern relevance
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Origins of the term

The term "Boston marriage" came to be used, apparently, after Henry James' book The Bostonians detailed a marriage-like relationship between two women — "New Women" in the language of the time, women who were independent, not married, self-supporting (which sometimes meant living off inherited wealth or making a living as writers or other professional, educated careers). Less common but nonetheless used was the term "Wellesley marriage."

[edit] Modern relevance

The 1999 play Boston Marriage by David Mamet depicts such a marriage as having an explicitly sexual component. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to allow legal same-sex marriages, which makes Boston the only major city in the U.S. where a "Boston Marriage" can also be a legal marriage, if the couple wishes it to be. This redefinition has lent new currency to the term, and some people, hearing it for the first time, think it is a new term referring to legal same-sex marriages.