Please join us on the 20th of July from 6:30 pm - 9 pm for a unique Q&A with Rachael
Lennon, the author of Wedded Wife: A Feminist History of Marriage in conversation with Lexie Shaibu-Lenoir, Founder of Queer Weddings UK.
Wedded Wife tells a remarkable story of how this institution has developed
from the ancient customs of the stone age through to the modern form it
takes today.
Lennon explores themes such as the pressure to marry, the politics
surrounding proposals, the spectacle of marriage, the business behind it,
and the politics tied to consummation as well as issues such as taking a
man’s name, the nuances of marriage vows and obedience, ‘having it all’
and trying to keep up the fight to have an enduring marriage.
Having married her wife just a few years after the legalisation of same-sex
marriage in the United Kingdom, Lennon interweaves her own personal
experiences of marriage with stories and anecdotes from throughout history
to explore how marriage has transformed over the years.
In shaking off patriarchal expectations, Rachael examines marriage’s
troubling past and celebrates a more joyful present, celebrating the feminist
activists who have fought to make marriage a pure and equitable
celebration of love, open to everyone regardless of gender or sexuality.
She also asks what compels us to keep making this choice? Can we let go
of the gendered baggage that we have inherited? Can we hold true to
feminist values as we commit to our partners? And what does that look
like? How can we build on the past to continue to redefine marriage for the
future?
Reviewed and featured in The Observer, The Guardian, The Scotsman,
The Sunday Post, BBC Radio Scotland, The New Statesman and many
others, Wedded Wife is a fascinating and thought provoking read.
About Author: Rachael Lennon
Rachel was the National Trust's co-founder of the revisionist
Challenging Histories programme which Clare Balding claimed "will change
the way history is written and thought about from this point onwards".
Having grown up understanding that marriage was only for a man and a
woman, she married her wife Claire in Northumberland in 2017 - just 3
years after the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the UK.
About Host: Lexie Shaibu-Lenoir
Lexie Shaibu-Lenoir, Founder of Queer Weddings UK, is an experienced Wedding & Event Planner from Paris, currently based in London. With 15 years in the wedding and events industry, she has curated remarkable LGBTQ+ weddings at prestigious London venues such as Tower Bridge, The Landmark, Syon Park, The Barbican, Gibson Hall, and renowned 5-star hotels. Lexie's achievements have been recognized in notable publications like GayTimes, Diva Magazine, and Attitude Magazine, where she was listed among the 101 LGBTQ Trailblazers in Business
