Boston marriage

English

Etymology

Unknown, first used in late 19th century New England, and sometimes connected to The Bostonians (1885) by Henry James, which describes such a relationship.

Noun

Boston marriage (plural Boston marriages)

1. (historical) A long-term monogamous relationship between two unmarried women, especially in New England between the 18th and early 20th centuries.
   • [1894 March 5, “Vanity Fair”, in The Argonaut, page 9:

     Two women, as well known as Susan Channing and Edna D. Cheney, have made separate appeals for this new departure of female habit. A Boston marriage is described to be a sympathetic union of two women who have not been able to make good and agreeable matches with members of the opposite sex.]

   • [1952, John Horne Burns, Cry of the Children:

     […] several times I was within an inch of coming down here and asking you out for a ride in my red convertible, but the Weird Sisters (indicating Meg and Louisa) told me not to disturb you. But I'm big enough to understand; I wasn't born yesterday. I understand this sort of menage, you know; it's called a Boston Marriage.]

   • 2002, Marilyn Yalom, Laura L. Carstensen, Inside the American Couple: New Thinking, New Challenges, University of California Press, page 81:

     Often, in marked contrast to Boston marriages in previous times, these lesbians keep their asexuality hidden from the community.

   • 2006, Laura Castañeda, Shannon B. Campbell, News and Sexuality: Media Portraits of Diversity, SAGE, page 217:

     Thus, unlike in contemporary relationships, participants in a Boston marriage may or may not have considered genital activity to be an important element in their relationship.

Further reading

• Boston marriage on Wikipedia.Wikipedia