Marriage
When it comes to gay marriage, the times, they are a-confusing. For instance, we recently overhead some people extolling the virtues of marriage, and how it allowed them to finally join in family gatherings as respectable married people, instead of skulking in as shamefully unmarried partners. They reminisced about the joys of being able to walk up to coworkers and introduce their husbands, the sparkle of their wedding rings legitimizing their socially sanctioned and forever-to-be unions.
by Conrad and Castonguay (2007)
You might wonder: Were we somewhere near the extreme right-wing group Focus on the Family? Perhaps we were taking a tour of the Jerry Falwell museum, which houses his wife’s wedding dress?
No. Those words came from the mouths of gays arguing that gay marriage is necessary for the well being of the world. In fact, we hear rumors that rainbows appear every day in all the states where gay marriage is legal; that the children of gay married couples are healthier, wiser, kinder; that they can and do beat up the nasty illegitimate spawn of those who dare to remain unmarried; and that the cats of married gay men regularly crap nuggets of gold.
Gay marriage apes hetero privilege and allows everyone to forget that marriage ought not to be the guarantor of rights like health care. In their constant invoking of the “right” to gay marriage, mainstream gays and lesbians express a confused tangle of wishes and desires. They claim to contest the Right’s conservative ideology yet insist that they are more moral and hence more deserving than sluts like us. They claim that they simply want the famous 1000+ benefits but all of these, like the right to claim protection in cases of domestic violence, can be made available to non-marital relationships.
We wish that the GM crowd would simply cop to it: Their vision of marriage is the same as that of the Right, and far from creating FULL EQUALITY NOW! as so many insist (in all caps and exclamation marks, no less) gay marriage increases economic inequality by perpetuating a system which deems married beings more worthy of the basics like health care and economic rights.
* * *
Text
Death of Marriage the Path to Equality – Meagan Tyler (2011)
Sexual Nationalisms: Notes on Queer Migration and Asylum Politics in Canada - Melissa Autumn White (2011)
Right to Marry More Remote for low-income LGBT Couples – Arlene Stein (2011)
The Wrong Reasons for Same-Sex Marriage – Jaye Cee Whitehead (2011)
Why Gay Marriage IS the End of the World (or the queer world, at least) – Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
What’s Wrong With Gay Marriage? – Eric Stanley
Gay Marriage: Civil Right or Civil Wrong – Ultra Violet
Against Equality, in Maine and Everywhere – Conrad
Legalize Gay, Or: So You Think You’re Illegal? – Yasmin Nair
Prop 8: Let’s Get Rid of Marriage Instead! – Sally Kohn (2010)
Is Gay Marriage Racist? – Marlon M. Bailey, Priya Kandaswamy, Mattie Udora Richardson
Uniting American Families Act: Facts, Fiction, Money and Emotions – Yasmin Nair
Queer Kids of Queer Parents Against Gay Marriage – Martha Jane Kaufman & Katie Miles
I Still Think Marriage is the Wrong Goal – Dean Spade & Craig Willse
Is Gay Marriage Anti-Black??? – Kenyon Farrow
Inequality in the Marriage Equality Movement – Amy Sueyoshi
The Marriage Fight is Setting Us Back – John D’Emilio
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace? Why We Need Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage – Susan Thompson
Abandon Equality – Marcus McCann
Queer Liberation is Class Struggle – Gathering Voices
Open Letter to LGBT Leaders Who are Pushing Marriage Equality – Kate Bornstein
Equality, Without Marriage – Nadia Berenstein
I Don’t: The Case Against Marriage – Jessica Bennett and Jesse Ellison
Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision for All Our Families and Relationships – Beyond Marriage Collective Statement
Audre Lorde Project Position Statement on Marriage – Audre Lorde Project
Marriage and Love – Emma Goldman (1911)
They Who Marry do Ill – Voltairine de Cleyre (1907)
-
Culture
Three Australian LGBTQI Activist Interviewed – 3CR Radio (2011)
Red Red Red – Film (2010)
Homotopia – Film (2007)
Love Story – Short Video by Dean Spade
Popping the Question – THINK AGAIN
1984 Lesbian Episode – Kate and Allie
Faggotz.org – Mixed Media
Marriage is the Proverbial Burning Building Poster – National Conference on Organized Resistance 2007
Prop 8. Special Election PSA – Falling in Love with Chris and Greg
Old Mole Radio Show interview with Naughty North activist after gay marriage ballot measure fails in Maine.
Beyond Gay Marriage – Radio Documentary
-
Links
-
Further Reading
Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families Under the Law – Nancy Polikoff
