Five years of same-sex marriage in France: Differences between male and female couples

The demographic situation in France
By Gaëlle Meslay, James Tovey
English

In 2013, France followed in the footsteps of several other European countries by legalizing same-sex marriage. However, there is a lack of information for estimating the proportion and sociodemographic characteristics of same-sex couples who marry. Using civil registration data on marriages, we show that male couples are older and more commonly live in Paris, while female couples more closely resemble different-sex couples, and binational female couples are rarer than binational male couples. These differences clearly reflect gendered variations in the relationship to the institution of marriage and the greater importance of legal issues regarding adoption for lesbians. This work also situates same-sex married couples in relation to cohabiting couples who participated in the French Family and Housing survey, demonstrating certain specific characteristics among married couples.

  • marriage
  • sexualities
  • gender
  • conjugality
  • unions
  • same-sex couples
  • France
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