Selects: How Mail Order Marriages Work
The hosts examine the history, mechanics, and ethical debates surrounding so‑called mail-order marriages, from colonial America and frontier settlements through 19th‑century matrimonial ads to the modern international marriage brokerage industry. They discuss how these arrangements have at times expanded women's agency and legal rights, while also creating serious power imbalances, immigration-related vulnerabilities, and potential overlaps with human trafficking. The episode also covers contemporary legal safeguards, data limitations, and evolving forms such as LGBTQ mail-order marriages, before closing with a listener email about losing a parent to COVID-19 and the importance of vaccination.