Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society Advance Access originally published online on June 7, 2007
Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society 2007 14(2):155-181; doi:10.1093/sp/jxm009
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Rights of Love: the State and Intimate Relationships in Canada and the United States
Lois Harder is an associate professor of political science at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada
Correspondence: She can be contacted at the Department of Political Science, University of Alberta, 10-16 HM Tory Building, Edmonton, Canada T6G 2H4. Tel.: +780 492 0535; fax: +780 492 2586; E-mail: lharder{at}ualberta.ca
This article puzzles through the contrasts and paradoxes arising from state practices of relationship recognition in Canada and the United States. In the Canadian case, the focus is on the assignment of legal status to common-law relationships, regardless of whether the parties to the relationship desire that status. In the United States, in contrast, legislative attention has been directed at the reinforcement of heterosexual marriage. These differing postures provoke questions regarding the roles of intimate relationships in governing projects. In particular, what do these postures mean for the autonomy of individuals to construct their personal lives and how do they complicate the designation "neoliberal" to Canadian and US regimes of governance.