Research Professor University of Denver Denver, Colorado
Background: In 2015, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, setting in motion a sweeping social change for sexual minority people and their romantic relationships. The United States Census Bureau collects demographic data on same-sex couple households. (Note, that “same-sex” is the current terminology used in data collection by the Census Bureau, which we use here for consistency although it is outdated terminology). This offers an opportunity to explore the demographic make-up of same-sex marriage today. Understanding the current demographic landscape of marriage among same-sex couples is essential for researchers studying sexual minority couples’ relationship choices, practitioners providing services to those couples who may or may not wish to marry, and for policymakers who craft family-related policy. This study examined whether the “marriage gap” – in which individuals who are minoritized based on their race or ethnicity, as well as those from other marginalized groups (e.g., socioeconomically) are less likely to marry than those identifying as White or from socially privileged groups—is true for same-sex couples.
Methods: We used national probability data from the American Community Survey collected in 2021 (the most recent year these data are available) on married and unmarried, cohabiting same-sex and opposite-sex households. These surveys were conducted with one individual from each household in a representative sample of U.S. households. Respondents reported on their own age, race, ethnicity, education, employment, income, home ownership, and whether they had children living with them in their household.
Results: Differences between married and unmarried, cohabiting opposite-sex couples were observed in race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic indicators, as anicipated. For example, 6.8% of married respondents identified as Black, while 10% of unmarried respondents were (p < .05). In most cases, minoritized groups were less likely to be married. Many of these demographic gaps also existed for same-sex couples (e.g., 7.6% of married respondents identified as Black while 10% of unmarried ones identified as Black; p< .05), although these were often smaller than those observed for opposite-sex couples. Several of these differences further varied between male and female same-sex couples. For example, 9% of married male couples had children compared to 3.5% of unmarried male couples (p < .05). In contrast, 26% of married female couples had children compared to 18% of unmarried female couples (p < .05).
Conclusions: Same-sex married couples appear to be more demographically diverse than opposite-sex married couples. However, like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples from minoritized groups were less likely to be married. Future research is first needed to understand factors that drive these differences (e.g., whether they stem from different attitudes about or desires for marriage versus a lack of access to the opportunity to marry). Clinicians and policymakers will need to bear these group differences in mind when delivering services and designing policy to support the well-being of same-sex couples.
