*For years, discussions about marriage among Black women have centered on declining marriage rates. But Census data reveals another side of the story: more Black women in same-sex relationships are walking down the aisle.
According to The Reckoning, the Census counted 25,790 married Black lesbian households in 2019, up from 17,439 in 2015. That represents an increase of nearly 48% over four years.
The numbers offer a different perspective on the longstanding Black marriage gap. In 2010, Census figures showed that 41% of Black women had never been married, compared with 21% of White adult women. However, those figures largely focused on heterosexual relationships.
“We’re so focused on the heterosexual piece but Black women are marrying,” said Siobhan Brooks, an associate professor at California State University, Fullerton, who studies Black LGBTQ+ issues. “We’re marrying each other.”
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Brooks examined the meaning of marriage among Black lesbian and bisexual women in her 2017 study, “Black on Black Love: Black Lesbian and Bisexual Women, Marriage, and Symbolic Meaning.” She found that marriage could provide couples with greater recognition and legitimacy within their communities.
“It legitimizes their relationship in spaces where their relationships are not seen as real,” Brooks said.
Social media has also helped make Black lesbian marriage more visible. Tynisha Lovett’s Bride Navy Instagram page, which caters to Black lesbian brides, has attracted more than 26,000 followers since 2019. Atlanta-based wedding officiant and premarital counselor Crystal Payne said that visibility can encourage others to imagine marriage for themselves.
“These couples are kind of letting us into their lives,” says Payne. “That’s very inspirational to a lot of people who are looking and wondering if this is something that I can have one day.”
For Black lesbian couples, the marriage conversation isn’t disappearing. It is changing.
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