It was the third entry in the Queer Action/Queer Ideas series, edited by the gay writer Michael Bronski.

[1] Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage received positive reviews from Jay Barth in Choice,[2] Kenyon Farrow in The Indypendent,[3] and Robert L. Mack in the Journal of GLBT Family Studies.

He found Polikoff's critique of the mainstream LGBT rights movement's approach to marriage "thought provoking", and recommended the book as suitable for upper-division undergraduates.

[2] Farrow credited Polikoff with arguing convincingly "that we have had more progressive moves toward family policy in our country's history".

He remarked that Polikoff had provided real-life examples of problems occasioned by tying legal benefits to marriage, and recommended the book to readers "to help you ground your argument in practical terms".