- Lavender marriage
Lavender marriage is a term used to describe a type of
mixed-orientation marriage in which a man and a woman marry for the purpose of concealing that one, or both, parties are homosexual.Fact|date=September 2007 If one party is straight, they are referred to as a beard (female) ormerkin (male), depending on their gender.Although there have been a number of prominent lavender marriages in history, the phrase itself came into colloquial use during the 1920s,Fact|date=November 2007 when the imposition of morality clauses into the contracts of
Hollywood actors caused some homosexual stars to enter into marriages of convenience to protect their public reputations, and preserve their careers. The destruction of the career ofMGM actorWilliam Haines , who refused to end his relationship with his male partner Jimmy Shields and enter into a marriage at MGM's direction [cite web |url=http://www.glbtq.com/arts/haines_w.html |title=Haines, William "Billy" (1900-1973) |first=Benjamin |last=Trimmier |accessdate=2007-04-28 |publisher=glbtq.com ] , was said to have prompted a number of marriages of this type.Fact|date=November 2007While the term is no longer in common usage, rumors suggesting some high profile celebrity couples marry to conceal the sexual orientation of one or both partners continue to circulate.
Among the couples and individuals who have been reported or rumored to have entered "lavender marriages" are:
*
Rock Hudson , who, under movie studio pressure and worried about rumors that "Confidential" magazine was planning to expose his homosexuality, marriedPhyllis Gates , a young woman who worked in the film studio. [cite book|first=Phyllis|last=Gates|authorlink=Phyllis Gates|title=My husband, Rock Hudson: the real story of Rock Hudson's marriage to Phyllis Gates|location=Garden City, N.Y.|publisher=Doubleday|year=1987|isbn=9780385240710]
*Costume designer Adrian and actressJanet Gaynor .
*ActorsEdmund Lowe andLilyan Tashman was rumored to be a lavender marriage.
*Actors Charles Bryant andAlla Nazimova , who collaborated on several films including the infamous Salomé.The plot of the 1993 film "
The Wedding Banquet " centers around a lavender marriage between two Chinese Americans.ee also
*
Boston marriage
*Doom Book
*Hollywood marriage
*"Mariage blanc ", an asexual marriage undertaken for the protection of one partyReferences
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