The term is particularly associated with women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when it was significantly more difficult for women to build independent lives. Living together allowed two women to share expenses, household responsibilities, and create a stable home.

However, Boston marriage did not necessarily denote a romantic or sexual relationship. In some cases, it truly was a friendship and partnership between two independent women who simply decided to live together.

The name is associated with Boston, where such female domestic partnerships were common among educated and financially independent women.

Today, a similar lifestyle is also quite common: two friends or relatives may share a room, pay bills, buy groceries, and share a common household. However, modern people are more likely to call this a cohabitation or a domestic partnership.

Thus, the Boston marriage is an interesting historical example of how women could create independent lives and support each other outside the traditional family model.