News Release

As the California Supreme Court prepares to decide the legality of Proposition 8, an exhibit of photos and newspaper articles at the San Francisco Main Library provides a remarkable glimpse of pre-1950 same-sex marriages. Girl Who “Wed” Another Girl is on display now through Dec. 18 in the General Collections & Humanities Center on the third floor of the Main Library, 100 Larkin St., San Francisco.

While California continues to grapple with the issue of marriage rights, this exhibit offers a revelatory look at a number of anatomically same-sex California couples who married and lived as husband and wife in defiance of social and legal conventions.

Presented by the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center of the San Francisco Public Library, the exhibit is based on research by Dr. Nicoletta Karam and uses materials pulled from the library’s collections. The exhibit highlights several same sex couples who “legally” obtained marriage licenses and the legal battles and victories they had once they were discovered. In fact, one couple’s marriage was never annulled because it was found they hadn’t broken any law—there was no ban on same-sex marriage until 2001.

For more information about Girl Who “Wed” Another Girl, please call (415) 557-4277.