Books By Marcia Zug

Marcia A. Zug, 2024

This book takes a deep dive into the unromantic history of marrying for reasons other than love. Americans hold marriage in such high esteem that we push people toward it, reward them for taking part in it, and fetishize its benefits to the point that we routinely ignore or excuse bad behavior and societal ills in the name of protecting and promoting it. You’ll Do explores the laws and policies designed to encourage people to marry as well as the problems created by such actions. Attaching important rights and benefits to marriage is an effective means of promoting marriage, but at what costs? When marriage becomes the best, and often only, way of acquiring important rights and benefits, those who don’t marry or can’t marry are excluded. Consequently, the book challenges the assumption that people should only marry for love, yet also shows that not marrying for love can be equally problematic.

Marcia A. Zug, 2016

Buying A Bride explores the history of mail order marriage in the United States from the earliest mail order brides of Jamestown, Virginia to modern internet matches. The common perception of mail order marriages is that these relationships must be abusive and exploitative. Buying A Bride challenges this assumption. Historically, mail order marriage was an attractive and often empowering option for women, and this can still be true today. As Buying A Bride demonstrates, it is not the form of introduction that is the problem, but whether the law ensures that such women are protected and cared for. When that happens, mail-order marriage is just like other marriages, some are good, some are bad and some are everything in-between