© COPYRIGHT by Michelle A. Marzullo 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Dedicated to the people of the Village of New Paltz, New York for their constant engagement in what matters most now, their New York candor and most importantly their attempt at living as intentionally as possible in order to remind us of our connections to one another and to the earth. THE MARRYING TIMES: PROGRESSIVE MARRIAGE UNDER NEOLIBERALIZATION BY Michelle A. Marzullo ABSTRACT This study shows how progressive-identifying people living in the Village of New Paltz, New York USA come to decisions about marriage in the current neoliberalized economy through different renderings of time (temporality). It examines how national discourses on marriage in light of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer movement integrate with the ways that villagers come to understand their life’s trajectory through various understandings of work opportunities (i.e. shift work versus salaried work, time spent on higher education) and marriage (i.e., proper age to marry, marriage timing and marriage length). My fieldwork was conducted from June 2007 through December 2008 when the “Great Recession” began to be felt in the U.S. On-going village support of “same-sex” marriage combined with this historic circumstance created a fitting environment for examining the tensions between intimate marriage decisions, the marriage movement and the political-economy. Even the most progressive villagers decided to marry only when a calculus of economic or social capital achievement for themselves or their partner seemed imminent. I define this calculation as marital arbitrage. Many villagers reported perpetually deferring marriage as they attempt this timing, choosing cohabitation until they feel “ready” and thus further contributing to the deinstitutionalization of the rite even among those who desire marriage. Through such timings, marriage has become a rarified social category marked by plummeting marriage rates except among the most educated and affluent in the U.S. This finding clarifies why many activists for economically marginalized groups, including welfare and LGBTQ advocates, find the push toward marriage promotion to be limited and ii discriminatory. Regardless of sexuality, marital arbitrage accounts for marriage being entered into later and later in life as a way to vest a partner with inheritance and decision-making powers upon disability or death imbuing the phrase “until death do us part” with critical new meaning. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are so many people that touched me during the decade plus of my life that it took to complete this work—it is impossible to name each one. Those who intellectually challenged me, nurtured me through a long sickness and many struggles, moved me to tears and laughter, loved me for my faults and follies, picked me up and pushed me on when I needed it—there is no way to thank you but I try here. In formal and informal ways, many, many people helped me to interrogate the ideas that flow through these pages toward a deeper and more accurate reflection of the lived experiences of this thing called marriage. To my dissertation committee: William L. Leap for believing in me, teaching me how to be stalwart in my approach and seeing me through the maze called a doctoral program; Ellen Lewin for her intellectual acuity, candor and for sharpening my writing; Rachel Watkins for inspiring me to follow the idea of time through to this end and for her infectious moral support; and, M.V. Lee Badgett for our rewarding conversations, always over some yummy food, that helped me to approach the data in ways I had not considered. To my other intellectual interlocutors Jacqualine Reed, Lavinia Nicolae, John Cho, Christa Craven, Dana-Ain Davis, Gilbert Herdt, Katherine Kingfisher, Ernest Disney- Britton and Evan Wolfson. To my Point Foundation family for supporting me financially and mentoring me in so many ways. To the American University Anthropology Department and the American University College of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Research Fellowship for securing a place for public anthropology. Most of all to my intimate support system: Cheri and Rachel Curry, Harjant Gill, Elyse Miller & Randy Green, my father Richard Marzullo and mother Lorraine Colacicco, Christine Nollen & Douglas Davis, Joy Agcaoili & family, Becca Frischkorn & the Namaste House, Kathy Richter, Thomas Thorne-Thomsen and to my dear friends from the Village of New Paltz. A heartfelt thank you. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 54 CHAPTER 3 VILLAGE OF NEW PALTZ: GUARDIANS OF THE LAND AND REVOLUTIONS ..................................................................................................... 94 CHAPTER 4 DEFENSE, EQUALITY AND CHOICE: U.S. MARRIAGE TEMPORALITIES ......................................................................................................... 128 CHAPTER 5 THE MARRYING TIMES ...................................................................... 170 CHAPTER 6 “ONLY WHEN WE’RE READY”: MARITAL ARBITRAGE IN THE VILLAGE OF NEW PALTZ ................................................................................. 230 CHAPTER 7 MARRIAGE AS SEMAPHORE ............................................................. 288 APPENDIX A STUDY MATERIALS ....................................................................................... 323 APPENDIX B INTERVIEWEE INFORMATION AND PSEUDONYMS .............................. 351 APPENDIX C SURVEY RESULT TABLES AND DATA DICTIONARY ............................ 360 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................... 386 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Demographics Data ............................................................................................................ 361 2. Class, Income and Mobility Data ....................................................................................... 363 3. Political Engagement .......................................................................................................... 364 4. Familiarity with Political Concepts .................................................................................... 367 5. Data Dictionary .................................................................................................................. 368 vi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Percentage of Job Activity in New York State 2006-2011 Compared to Village of New Paltz by Sector .......................................................................................................... 50 2. Liv’s (pseudonym) Circle of Relatedness ........................................................................... 63 3. Evan’s Circle of Relatedness .............................................................................................. 64 4. One of Many Placards Along Huguenot Street, a National Historic Site in the Village of New Paltz. ........................................................................................................ 97 5. Climbing the Shawangunk Mountains ................................................................................ 98 6. Social Movements of concern to Village of New Paltz Interviewees and Survey Respondents .................................................................................................................... 101 7. Main Street in the Village of New Paltz ........................................................................... 103 8. A Popular Lunch Spot in the Neighboring Town of Rosendale Features Bumper Stickers at the Front Counter that Capture the Moral Geography of the Area ............... 108 9. Mayor Jason West (left) Married Jeffrey McGowan (middle) and Billiam van Roestenberg (right), February 27, 2004 .......................................................................... 131 10. Robert’s Circle of Relatedness........................................................................................ 213 11. Janel’s Circle of Relatedness .......................................................................................... 214 12. Comparison of Data on Median Age at First Marriage: 1963-2003 ............................... 258 13. New Paltz Pride March and Festival Revelers, Main Street, Village of New Paltz, June 1, 2008 .................................................................................................................... 316 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION I will say one thing that I didn't quite touch on...I am terrified about finances in regards to the future. But I also I've seen a lot now at this point, that I don't think we will ever be ideally where I want to be with marriage and finances. I don't think I’ll be able to afford the house that, I don’t want to say I’ve dreamed of but