Marriage

The term marriage can refer to a legal status, a religious rite, or a culturally recognized union between two or more people that serves as the foundation for their shared rights, obligations, relational systems, and families. Constructions of marriage have varied widely across time and cultural context. Whereas many English-speaking colonial cultures have tended to view marriage as a public and binding legal contract between two people of cisgender experience who are heterosexual and monogamous, this does not reflect accurately the global histories of “marriage,” which varies widely across times, societies, and contexts.

Some people have referred to marriage that involves a trans person as trans marriage. Yet the phrase “trans marriage” is a misnomer, as it obscures the wide ranges of partner genders, sexuality, and ...