Legal Recognition of Plural Unions

Is A Nonmarital Relationship Status the Answer to the Dilemma

Bibliographic Data

ID21739746
AuthorsSally F Goldfarb (corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume58
Issue1
Pages157-173
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueFamily Court Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1531-2445 • E-ISSN: 1744-1617
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/fcre.12461
OpenAlexW3001521367
LanguageEN
Citations received4

Intimate relationships involving three or more adults are increasingly visible in American society. Multiparty relationships, which are also known as plural unions, mainly take two different forms: systemic polygyny and polyamory. Family law currently denies recognition to all plural unions. Granting legal recognition to multiparty relationships would advance the goal of family pluralism and expand access to valuable legal protections. However, the possibility of granting official recognition to plural unions must be approached with caution, because systemic polygyny poses a serious risk of harm to women and children arising from the imposition of oppressive gender roles. A possible solution to this dilemma lies in offering a formal nonmarital status (such as civil union, domestic partnership, reciprocal beneficiary, or designated beneficiary) to participants in plural unions. As a result of their differing attitudes toward marriage, polyamorists would be likely to embrace a nonmarital relationship status, while participants in systemic polygyny would most likely reject it. Thus, providing a nonmarital status for plural unions could allow polyamorists to obtain the benefits of relationship recognition, without placing the government's seal of approval on the oppressive aspects of systemic polygyny

Beneficiary · Criminology · Dilemma · Plural · Political science · Polygyny · Population · Sociology · Family and Matrimonial Law · Law · Marriage and Sexual Relationships · Reproductive Health and Technologies

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