Not the Marrying Kind is a new and comprehensive exploration of the contemporary same-sex marriage debates in several jurisdictions including Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. It departs from much of the existing scholarship on same-sex marriage, which argues either for or against marriage for same-sex couples. Instead, this book begins from a critical analysis of the institution of marriage itself (as well as separate forms of relationship recognition, such as civil partnership, PaCS, domestic partnership) and asks whether and how feminist critiques of marriage might be applied specifically to same-sex marriage. In doing this, the author combines the theories of second wave feminism with insights from contemporary queer theory.

A closeted small-town florist and a too-busy-for-a-relationship bakery owner mix up the perfect recipe for love in this delicious lesbian romance novel.

Wedding planner Adam More has an epiphany: He has devoted all his life’s energy to creating events that he and his partner Steven are forbidden by federal law for having for themselves. So Adam decides to make a change. Organizing a boycott of the wedding industry, Steven and Adam call on gay organists, hairdressers, cater-waiters, priests, and hairdressers everywhere to get out of the business and to stop going to weddings, too. In this screwball, romantic comedy both the movement they’ve begun and their relationship are put in jeopardy when Steven’s brother proposes to Adam’s sister and they must decide whether they’re attending or sending regrets.

Sixteen years ago, world-famous artist Harriet P. Smith was the nerdiest girl at Doolittle High School, and Jake Porter was the new boy in town. Charismatic, handsome, and instantly popular, Jake was way out of her league. Harriet was shocked when he asked her to the graduation dance . . . and devastated when he left town for good the next morning. Only his father's remarriage could bring Jake, now a hot shot L.A. music exec, back to small-town Arkansas. His only consolation is the stunning woman with the mysterious green eyes he meets at a local bar. He's got no idea he was a part of one of the best nights of her life—or that he's about to fall for her as hard as she once did for him. Jake's never been the marrying kind, but another night with Harriet might make him change his mind.

In his fourth book of fiction, award-winning novelist and short story writer K. L. Cook explores marriage--not only to people, but to places and vocations--and how our lives are shaped by both the ideal and reality of lifelong commitments. A bride and groom discover secrets during their Las Vegas honeymoon and, years later, grapple with emotional and moral fissures in their relationship. A bankrupt academic flees to the Florida coast with his family and finds provisional hope in a big fish story. A fifteen-year-old boy sees Shakespeare's plays in the Colorado mountains, an experience that marries him for life to the theatre. A college dean and his attorney wife face unexpected changes that force them to re-envision their understanding of home. With insight, empathy, and humor, this collection of stories examines who and what we wed and what it means to be the marrying kind.

As the fight for same-sex marriage rages across the United States and lesbian and gay couples rush to marriage license counters, the goal of marriage is still fiercely questioned within the LGBT movement. Rarely has an objective so central to a social movement’s political agenda been so controversial within the movement itself. While antigay forces work to restrict marriage to one man and one woman, lesbian and gay activists are passionately arguing about the desirability, viability, and social consequences of same-sex marriage. The Marrying Kind? is the first book to draw on empirical research to examine these debates and how they are affecting marriage equality campaigns. The essays in this volume analyze the rhetoric, strategies, and makeup of the LGBT social movement organizations pushing for same-sex marriage, and address the dire predictions of some LGBT commentators that same-sex marriage will spell the end of queer identity and community. Case studies from California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Canada illuminate the complicated politics of same-sex marriage, making clear that the current disagreements among LGBT activists over whether marriage is conforming or transformative are far too simplistic. Instead, the impact of the marriage equality movement is complex and often contradictory, neither fully assimilationist nor fully oppositional. Contributors: Ellen Ann Andersen, U of Vermont; Mary C. Burke, U of Vermont; Adam Isaiah Green, U of Toronto; Melanie Heath, McMaster U, Ontario; Kathleen E. Hull, U of Minnesota; Katrina Kimport, U of California, San Francisco; Jeffrey Kosbie; Katie Oliviero, U of Colorado, Boulder; Kristine A. Olsen; Timothy A. Ortyl; Arlene Stein, Rutgers U; Amy L. Stone, Trinity U; Nella Van Dyke, U of California, Merced.

He's the best bad decision she'll ever make... Type A attorney Fiona Quinn has one goal left to accomplish before turning 30: A big, fairy-tale wedding. All she needs is a groom. So what if she's never been in love-or even lust-before? She's confident she can solve the problem the way she always does, with spreadsheets and an action plan. When a family emergency brings bad boy Max Devlin swaggering back into town-with his cocky grin, tattoos, and wanderlust-Fiona has to remind herself that he's as unsuitable as it gets. Nope. Not happening. No matter how irresistible his invitation is for a night or seven between the sheets. If she can't tie him down-metaphorically, of course-her pants must stay on. Max can't remember the last time a woman turned him down. He's a guaranteed three-orgasms good time, dammit. So what if he's not the marrying kind? Those sweaty palms he gets when Fiona agrees to help him save his dad's punk rock club are just an allergic reaction to her methodical march toward matrimony. Before he hits the road again, he's going to prove to Fiona that life's more fun when you play rather than plan. No one gets hurt when it's all just fun and games, right? Author's Note: A steamy, opposites attract standalone romance featuring a cocky bad boy (with a heart of gold) and a buttoned-up good girl (with a secret wild side). 1-click if you're into dirty dancing, swoony first kisses and hot trysts in supply closets. This book comes with a guaranteed (and very romantic) Happily Ever After.