Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, and the Transformation of American Law

September 30, 2026

Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, and the Transformation of American Law

Serena Mayeri, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School

Wednesday, September 30, 5 pm, HQ 136

Mayeri traces the past, present, and future of legal regimes of marital privilege, from the mid-twentieth century to the present era of federal retrenchment. She recounts the work of the parents, partners, activists, and lawyers who challenged marital supremacy and partially transformed the law.

Serena Mayeri is the Arlin M. Adams Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. This talk draws on their new book, Marital Privilege: Marriage, Inequality, and the Transformation of American Law (Yale University Press).

Sponsored by the Yale Research Initiative on the History of Sexualities

yrihs.yale.edu