Academic literature on the topic 'Gay marriages'

Thesis advisor: William A. Gamson<br>In 2006, Mariane Valverde announced the birth of what she called, “a new type in the history of sexuality” (155), the Respectable Same-Sex Couple. This work analyzes newspaper coverage of same-sex couples during the Massachusetts campaign for marriage equality to explore the content of and contours around that new socio-sexual category. The processes involved in the incorporation of lesbians and gay men into the governing relations of American society are used to explain the development of this type, and its replacement of the pathological Homosexual. The manufacture of respectability by movement activists is explored via the selection of “public face couples” as a framing strategy that links the lives of these couples to marriage itself and the hardships they suffer due to their inability to marry. The respectability of these couples and their incorporation as economic citizens is also linked to representations of professional status, upward mobility, economic success, and the creation of identity-based markets through entrepreneurial and consumptive practices. Boundaries around this respectability are evident in stories of failure, either to remain together as couples or to act in accordance with marital normative standards, while the boundaries between Heterosexuality and Homosexuality, and among and between same-sex and different-sex couples, are also being re-drawn as marriage becomes available. The broader historical transformation of lesbian and gay life is discusses in the development of new life-scripts becoming available. While these transformations have led to greater possibilities for the living of gay and lesbian lives, the absorption of these lives into governing relations also erases and expels other queer life practices and reinforces other forms of social inequality and injustice<br>Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009<br>Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences<br>Discipline: Sociology

<p> In this study, I explored the impact legal marriage has had on gay men in legally sanctioned same-sex marriages. Participants included five gay men who were legally married in Massachusetts. Each participant was interviewed three times; twice using a semi-structured interview guide developed for this study plus a feedback session for clarification and validity check. Narrative information was coded for emergent categories and themes using a constructivist-interpretivist phenomenological approach. I sought to explore how gay men perceive their relationships after being able to marry, the extent to which being married has impacted how they view themselves and their relationships, as well as how the availability of legal marriage has affected social acceptance and community support. Three categories emerged from coded narrative data: (a) Entering Marriage, which included themes of how participants defined marriage, as well as processes that led them to marry; (b) Mechanics and Meaning-Making in Marriage, which included themes relating to changes participants noticed in themselves since being married, as well as differences in how aspects of marriage such as division of labor, finance, intimacy, and family expansion were navigated; and (c) Marriage in Context, which included themes relating to community, social, and political influences on participants&rsquo; marriages. The findings revealed that legal marriage has had a positive impact for these five men across intrapsychic, interpersonal, and social domains, though each participant experienced these impacts differently. I hope the information gathered will help contextualize the issue of gay male marriage equality reflected in real life experience as the field of psychology continues to expand the notions of healthy family relationships and their constellations.</p>

Due to social stigma, millions of sexual minorities have concealed their true sexual identities by entering into heterosexual relationships and marriages. Eventually, some transition to same-sex relationships and are able to live authentic lives. This latter group had identified as genuinely heterosexual, never questioning their sexuality until a particular time in their lives when same-sex desires spontaneously appeared. The experiences of transitioning from heterosexual to same-sex partners are not well known, particularly for women who have been legally married to both men and women. Diamond's dynamical systems theory for same-sex sexuality and McCarn and Fassinger's lesbian identity formation model provided the theoretical framework for this qualitative narrative study investigating the life stories of 15 female participants recruited from social media, who had experienced a transition from heterosexual marriage to same-sex marriage. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and data were coded and analyzed to identify emergent categories. The findings revealed that the women experienced shifts in private and public sexual identities over time. Despite external obstacles and personal concerns in transitioning from heterosexual to same-sex relationships, all the women had more positive experiences in their same-sex marriages than they did in their heterosexual marriages. Understanding these women's life stories will allow mental health professionals to better understand and address the needs of this population in more clinical and applied settings. This study will also help educate the general public about women who experience shifts in the desired gender of their relationship.

Cooperative marriage is a heterosexual marriage negotiated and performed by a lala (a woman with same-sex desire) and a gay man. Building on growing debates on cooperative marriage within the tongzhi community and on intensifying media and academic attention, this thesis presents an empirical investigation of how gay men and lalas understand their experiences while in cooperative marriage. The study is based on in-depth interviews, participant observation and focus group interviews of twenty-two gay men and lalas in cooperative marriage distributed across five cities in China: Beijing, Shenyang, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Foshan. Among the questions addressed are: Why do gay men and lalas opt for this particular type of marriage? What are the lived experiences of sexual minorities facing cultural and institutional discrimination in China? What are the main living strategies and styles they adopt to cope with such discrimination? The study also explores different ways of relating to others and some novel intimate practices emerging. It is shown that, in general, these are not in harmony with the heteronormative values that are dominating society today. The new ways and practices are therefore challenging criticism from liberal rights activists, particularly with regard to issues such as coming out. I identify four types of orientations of gay men and lalas towards cooperative marriage: familial, individual, pragmatic, and idealistic. These reveal how gay men and lalas understand their relations to other main players in their lives and strategize accordingly. Among the characteristics playing key roles in their decision making are gender, being the single child of the family and co-residence with the parents in the same city (local vs. non-local). It is shown that the lives of gay men and lalas in cooperative marriage are being complicated by the need to negotiate multiple relationships, e.g., with the marital partner, the same-sex partner, the marital partner’s partner, the natal family, the in-laws, and the gay community around. I also theorize on the major types of politics of intimate relationships engaged in by gay men and lalas as they craft their living spaces while in cooperative marriage. Finally, I demonstrate that cooperative marriage has led to a new sub-cultural tongzhi movement where gay men and lalas build on the rapport they have developed with each other; e.g., they share information and experiences while participating in semi-open public discussions and matchmaking events. This is leading to emergent types of new ethics within the community which have critically challenged the stereo types and dominant narratives on tongzhi strategizing.<br>published_or_final_version<br>Social Work and Social Administration<br>Master<br>Master of Philosophy

This research aims to answer a simple question: Why are some individuals, and some states, more willing to extend protections to same-sex couples than are others? Drawing from the literature, I perform a battery of quantitative tests on variables most commonly associated with gay rights and gay marriage policy development: liberalism, education, age, religiosity, authoritarianism, tolerance, urbanization, and moral traditionalism. While I find that all of these variables have a relationship with gay rights and gay marriage opinion, I argue that those associated with religiosity have the strongest pull. However, religiosity does not act alone; moral traditionalism, age, and ideology play particularly robust roles as well. In conclusion, I contend that the data show a strong likelihood for the continued liberalization of gay rights and gay marriage policy into the foreseeable future.<br>M.A.<br>Department of Political Science<br>Health and Public Affairs<br>Political Science MA

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006.<br>Title from title screen. Andrew Altman, committee chair; William Edmundson, George Rainbolt, committee members. Electronic text (44 p.) : digital, PDF file. Description based on contents viewed Apr. 19, 2007. Includes bibliographical references.

The first chapter of this thesis examines the factors that assist and impede disclosure of homosexuality. Factors have been divided into intrapersonal, interpersonal and societal/environmental categories for convenience of reporting. However, it is recognised that these factors do not exist in isolation of each other. The second chapter investigates the experience of gay fathers who have disclosed their homosexuality to their children. Analysis of interviews carried out with gay fathers suggests a model of disclosure where fathers achieve a realisation of their homosexuality followed by a desire to be honest about it. Fathers then disclosed their sexuality to their children. The effects on the child, on the father and on the father/child relationship are discussed. The impact of supportive others who are important in the lives of the father and children seem to be paramount to a successful outcome. Clinical implications of this study are discussed along with the study’s limitations and ideas for future research. The third chapter examines the experience of a gay man who became a father via donor insemination. Salient factors related to this method of fathering, being gay, and being later contacted by the child are discussed. The final chapter contains the authors’ reflections on a personal experience that impeded disclosure of his own homosexuality. The author entered reparative therapy holding the belief that he did not want to be gay. Following therapy failure, the author reached a position of self acceptance. Implications for clinicians are discussed.

On April 26, 2000, Governor Howard Dean of the State of Vermont signed into law the Civil Union bill. The first of its kind in the United States, it extended the rights of marriage to same-sex couples. Holding that the rights of homosexual couples flowed from the Common Benefits clause of the State Constitution, this bill was the result of a contentious judicial and legislative process. Preceding as it did the state and national election contests later in the year, the Civil Union law generated anger, discord, elation and fear. In the year following its passage, Vermonters came to terms with this bill in many ways. This study considers the antecedents and the consequences of this bill.