Not Going to the Chapel? Intersex Youth and an Exploration of Marriage Desires and Expectations

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

7-19-2019

Publication Title

Expanding the Rainbow: Exploring the Relationships of Bi, Ace, Poly, Kink, and Intersex People.

Publisher

Brill | Sense

First page number:

247

Last page number:

264

Abstract

A recent New York Times article reported that U.S. millennials, those born between the early 1980s and early 2000s, are in no hurry to get married (Rabin, 2018). Instead, they are focused on developing their careers, strengthening friendships, and getting their personal life “in order” before settling down. In the article, sociologist Andrew Cherlin, a families and public policy expert, is consulted to summarize this pattern which he labels “capstone marriages.” “Marriage used to be the first step into adulthood. Now it is often the last....For many couples, marriage is something you do when you have the whole rest of your personal life in order. Then you bring family and friends together to celebrate” (Rabin, 2018). While today’s youth may be waiting longer to get married, that is if they want to get married at all (Luscombe, 2014), with the passage of the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015, there is no reason to believe that anyone who desires a monogamous marriage, and the benefits it offers as a legally sanctioned institution (Calhoun, 2000), would not be able to partake in the age-old heteronormative, cisnormative, and monogamous tradition.

Keywords

Gender studies; Intersex youth; Cultural expectations

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Language

English

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