Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage pdf

[...]... cultural changes of this era produced a seismic trans11 Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage formation of the law of marriage The old set of laws punished sex outside of marriage, imposed catastrophic consequences for bearing children outside of marriage, assumed and fostered “separate spheres” for men and women, and denied the ability to exit a marriage except under penalty These laws had endured for... challenging the political, economic, and social status quo and seeking to transform society into one in which sex, race, class, sexual 5 Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage orientation, and marital status no longer determined one’s place in the nation’s hierarchy Marriage was in the process of losing its ironclad grip on the organization of family life, and lesbians and gay men benefited overwhelmingly... entry into marriage more optional, and made exit from marriage more ordinary In doing so, they made marriage a diƒerent institution and opened avenues for recognition of new family forms, including those of gay men and lesbians The History of Gender and Marriage Feminists had much to complain about in the law of marriage English common law, adopted by the United States, understood a husband and wife... for gay and lesbian couples Access to marriage will provide some gay men and lesbians with the economic support and peace of mind that come from knowing that all your family members have adequate health insurance, that a loved one can make medical decisions for 7 Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage you if you are ill, that your economic interdependence will be recognized at retirement or death, and that... is Emily’s only legally rec1 Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage ognized parent When Lisa dies, Emily will receive Social Security survivors’ benefits, but Lynn will not.⁴ A consumer of current news might imagine that access to samesex marriage is the most contested issue in contemporary family policy, and that marriage is the only cure for the disadvantages faced by lesbian and gay families Both of these... argue that the intrinsic purpose of marriage is uniting a man and a woman to raise their biological children They oppose marriage for same-sex couples, and want marriage to have a special legal status The marriage- equality movement wants the benefits of marriage granted to a larger group: same-sex partners With few exceptions, advocates for gay and lesbian access to marriage do not say that “special rights”... not stand in her way It is possible to envision family law and policy without marriage being the rigid dividing line between who is in and who is out Keeping the state out of marriage entirely, making marriage only a religious, cultural, and spiritual matter, would be one way to accomplish this But the law would still have to determine how to allocate rights and responsibilities in families and when... families were planted When the movement for gay and lesbian rights and liberation emerged during that time, marriage was considered part of the problem, not part of the solution Marriage was a problem because it regulated the lives of men and women along gender lines—both within and outside of marriage and because it policed the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable sexual expression By themselves,... Sweeping legal changes in the late 1960s and early 1970s altered the significance of marriage and laid the groundwork for this pluralistic vision Those changes grew out of cultural and political shifts, including feminism and other social-change movements, greater access to birth control and acceptance of sex outside marriage, and increased dissatisfaction with marriage The legal changes included decreased... and men; and no-fault divorce Early gay and lesbian rights advocates forged alliances with others who challenged the primacy of marriage: divorced and nevermarried mothers, including those receiving welfare benefits; unmarried heterosexuals, both those consciously rejecting the baggage associated with marriage and those who simply did not marry; and nonnuclear units, such as communal living groups and .