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“Buying a Bride: Mail-Order Brides & Grooms” Book Talk | SF

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Thursday, February 2, 2017 - 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm | Cost: $5
California Historical Society | 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA

Event Details

Marcia Zug’s Buying a Bride: An Engaging History of Mail-Order Matches is the first book-length treatment of the history of mail-order marriage, and it makes a powerful case for the reexamination of a practice that remains poorly understood. Mail-order brides have been part of American life since the founding of the first English colony in Jamestown, Virginia. Nevertheless, how they have been perceived has changed drastically over time. There were “Tobacco Wives,” in colonial Virginia, mail-order brides during the California gold rush, Japanese picture brides during the early twentieth century, and even same-sex mail-order grooms today.

Today, it is a common misconception that women turn to marital immigration only as a desperate last resort. However, the reality is that most mail order brides are enticed rather than coerced. Buying A Bride uncovers this history and makes a compelling argument that mail-order marriage empowers women and that it should be protected and possibly even encouraged.

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Cost: $5
Categories: Lectures & Workshops
Address: 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA