GLBTQ People Who Decided to Marry After the 2016 U.S. Election: Reasons for and Meanings of Marriage

Abstract

ABSTRACT The goal of this study is to better understand the experiences of GLBTQ people who decided to marry, at least in part, because of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Participants (N = 158) responded to an online survey and described their reasons for marrying and the meanings that they associate with their marriage within the context of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Participants described 4 motivations to marry (personal, fearful, political, and hopeful) and 4 related meanings of their marriages (personal, material, political, and empowerment). Participants also perceived that their marriages had meaning as a rallying point to their social network members and as a threat to generalized heterosexual others. Results indicate that the 2016 election should be understood as part of the evolving socio-cultural context of marriage equality.