Gay marriage has been the rallying point for LGBT campaigners for the past decade across Europe and the Americas, with the state of New York being the most recent win for the movement. ?Currently 10 countries plus 6 states of the US recognize same sex marriage and a further 20 plus countries have some form of civil union granting same sex couples rights and responsibilities similar or identical to marriage.
The struggle for recognition of the equal status of same sex relationships has a long history. ?Discussions of homosexuality often focus on the sexual act to the exclusion of any understanding of the emotion or love involved in a relationship. ?In reality, same sex relationships can take as many and as various forms as straight relationships and should have the same right to publicly celebrate a long term commitment to one another.
The existence of civil partnerships in the UK gives same sex couples the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples such as pension benefits, property rights and tenancy rights. ?The impact of such legal entitlements for ordinary people should not be underestimated.? During the HIV crisis of the 1980s gay partners were denied even next-of-kin rights, so they often couldn?t see their loved one in the last days of their life.? The threat of losing a home or pension in old age with the death of a partner can add financial stress to the emotional burden. ?Granting such legal rights through civil partnerships or equivalent leaves the issue of marriage primarily at the level of the symbolic.
However, the symbolic is important. ?Not allowing same sex couples to marry perpetuates a sense of ?otherness? about gay relationships. ?There remains a two tier system where heterosexuality is the norm, homosexuality is a tolerated deviation.? Implicitly, same sex relationships are not of equal value and are not valued equally. ?This equalizing of the value of same sex and opposite sex relationships is what is being fought for and why it should be supported.
But the turn towards marriage is not without its problems. ?Conspicuously absent from the debate has been a critique of the institution of marriage itself. ?The ideology of marriage and the nuclear family are the cornerstone of women?s oppression, entrenching gender ideologies and the exploitation of women in unpaid domestic and caring labour. ?Crucially for LGBT couples, marriage privatizes personal relationships and allows the state to regulate what is and is not acceptable.
Whilst LGBT people challenge the heteronormative assumption that marriage must be between one man and one woman, in buying into marriage they do not challenge the ideal of the privatized monogamous couple. ?Whether heterosexual or homosexual, they serve the purpose of social reproduction.
Nonetheless, it is necessary to start from the material facts: marriage does exist. Whilst the existence of such an institution should be criticized, it is still important to fight for equality within it. ?Up until 1967 interracial marriages were prohibited in many states in the US often on similar grounds to the objections raised to same sex marriage.? It was argued that scripture forbade interracial marriage, that marriage had always been between people of the same race and that interracial marriage was damaging to children and the family environment.
So long as marriage exists it is better to be included than excluded. ?Whilst it is necessary to have a critique of marriage, it must also be acknowledged that within this society it is better to have the option than not. ?The institution of marriage will not be fundamentally challenged either by the exclusion or segregation of certain societal groups or by the sheer force of will on an individualized basis from those who disagree with it.
Ultimately, the struggle for same sex marriages in most western countries has shown what can be achieved when people come together to fight for their rights. ?However, the limits of achieving gay marriage must also be recognized. ?Legislative reform is essential in crystallizing gains for LGBT liberation but will not bring about true equality-equality in law has long been recognized to be separate from de facto equality.
Gay marriage is most important when it is seen not as an end in itself but as a part of something much larger which maintains a critique of the underlying constraints on sexuality and society.? Equality can then be a stepping stone to true social change. ?LGBT groups must move beyond campaigning for single issues and start making links in and between different movements to challenge all forms of oppression.
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Source: http://internationalsocialist.org.uk/index.php/2011/08/should-we-support-gay-marriage/
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