The vulnerable self: narratives of heterosexual marriage in Taiwan

Abstract

ABSTRACT On 24 May 2019 – the designated deadline under the Justices’ Interpretation no.748 – the Legislative Yuan passed the law, Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748. Taiwan then became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. It is a significant legal change that was achieved after years of legal battle involving intense debate between supporters and those against the legalization. In this article I treat the debate as a sense-making project and place heterosexuality at the centre of enquiry. Using official transcripts of hearings and forums organized by government branches as research data, a narrative analysis was conducted to examine what stories about heterosexuality are told by the opposition to argue against same-sex marriage. I found that personal experiences of heterosexual marriage and family life were the main theme emerging from these narratives. Based on the roles that the narrators identify themselves with in the stories, the narratives can be categorized into three groups: narratives of children, narratives of spouses, and narratives of parents. The analysis indicates that a vulnerable heterosexual self emerges from the narratives claiming the need for protection from ‘the threat of same-sex marriage’.