Stuff You Should Know Selects: How Mail Order Marriages Work
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Oct 4, 2025 Dive into the surprising world of mail-order marriages—a topic rich with nuance and history. Discover how early American matchmaking shaped perceptions, and the complex reality of the international marriage brokerage industry. Learn about the evolution from personal ads to modern online platforms, and the importance of safety measures like video chat. Explore the tricky intersections of immigration law, vulnerability, and even LGBTQ marriages, highlighting that these unions can be both exploitative and transformative.
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Mixed Moral Landscape
- Mail-order marriages blend dating-service dynamics with power imbalances and a long, evolving history.
- Josh and Chuck note the practice can be both empowering and exploitative depending on context.
Frontier Recruitment For Stability
- Early U.S. colonies and frontier territories used marriage recruitment to stabilize male-heavy settlements.
- These schemes offered women legal and economic incentives not available at home, creating real opportunities.
Mercer Girls Became Activists
- Some women who answered brokers like Asa Mercer became activists and organizers after relocating.
- Chuck cites Mehitable Haskell Elder as an example who led a 1871 women's rights conference.
