Legalization Of Same-sex Marriage Research Articles

Mental health effects of same-sex marriage legalization.

Same‐sex marriage legalization (SSML) is a typical anti‐discrimination policy to remove institutional discrimination against sexual minorities by providing them with marriage equality. We examine how this legalization in the Netherlands affected mental health. Conducting a difference‐in‐differences analysis with heterosexual individuals as a reference group, we find that SSML significantly improved mental health of sexual minorities and substantially reduced the sexual orientation gap of mental health. The beneficial effects were present for both married and non‐married sexual minorities. This phenomenon suggests that part of the health gains were related to mechanisms beyond marriage itself.

Examining perceived effects of same-sex marriage legalization among sexual minority women: Identifying demographic differences and factors related to alcohol use disorder, depression, and self-perceived health.

Reductions in structural stigma, such as gaining access to legalized same-sex marriage, is associated with positive psychological and physical health outcomes among sexual minorities. However, these positive outcomes may be less robust among sexual minority women (SMW). This study examined how perceptions of the impact of legalized same-sex marriage among SMW may 1) differ by demographic characteristics and 2) predict alcohol use disorder, depression, and self-perceived health. A diverse sample of SMW (N=446) completed an online survey in 2020 assessing the perceived impact of legalized same-sex marriage across six social-ecological domains: 1) personal impact, 2) stigma-related concerns, 3) couple impact, 4) family support, 5) work/school impact, and 6) local social climate towards LGBTQ people. Perceived impact across multiple domains differed by relationship status and sexual identity (e.g., lesbian compared to bisexual identity); only family support differed by race/ethnicity. Stigma-related concerns (e.g., experiencing or witnessing hostility or discrimination because of sexual identity, despite legalized same-sex marriage) were associated with greater odds of depression and lower odds of reporting excellent, very good, or good health. Odds of depression were lower among participants who reported higher personal impact, a greater number of family members supportive of same-sex marriage, and a more positive local social climate. Family support also predicted self-perceived health. However, participants who perceived increased support in work/school contexts after legalized same-sex marriage had higher odds of alcohol use disorder. Overall, findings underscore the importance of policy in improving health outcomes through reducing stigma-related concerns and improving social acceptance.

#MeToo in East Asia: The Politics of Speaking Out

The global diffusion of #MeToo has sparked case studies and scholarly discussions (Fileborn and Loney-Howes 2019; Lee and Murdie 2020; Noel and Oppenheimer 2020), but the East Asian experience remains understudied, especially from a comparative perspective within and outside the region. The internet hashtag movement emerged from quality investigative journalism, and the movement has done what the law could not (MacKinnon 2018). Examining tweets that include the English version of the hashtag, Lee and Murdie (2020) found that women are more likely to engage in #MeToo in countries where their political rights are better protected. This finding, however, does not seem to fit East Asia's experience. The region's earliest and longest democracy, Japan, had a much milder movement than neighboring South Korea. Many South Korean women publicly named their perpetrators, but Japanese women, when sharing their experience of being harassed, mostly remained anonymous (Hasunuma and Shin 2019). Moreover, Taiwan, arguably the most gender-equal country in this region—if measured by women's political representation (42% in the national legislature) or by policies toward sexual minorities (it was the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage)—has had virtually no #MeToo movement.

Will Marriage Rights Bring Family Equality? Law, Lesbian Co-Mothers, and Strategies of Recognition in Taiwan

Abstract This article analyzes the tension between marriage and family rights in the context of Taiwan's marriage equality movement and the then-pending legalization of same-sex marriage following a 2017 Constitutional Court ruling. It focuses on the efforts of lesbian co-mothers to secure vital legal guarantees for the families they create through intentional childbearing. As pioneers who have formed families in a legal vacuum, these parents harbor deep hopes for what law will offer but simultaneously doubt that legal reforms will guarantee the rights and recognition they desire. For lesbian co-mothers, law and family are mutually constitutive practices oriented toward both the present and the future. Co-mothers make decisions about childbearing and family formation that take into account existing legal frameworks for family recognition, but their strategies for recognition also orient them toward future potentialities, posing the challenge of how to make decisions in the present without knowing for certain what might be legally possible in the future. The article concludes that lesbian co-mothers’ family strategies are productive as much as they are reactive; they not only diversify the norm but also potentially shift the very ground on which normativity is created.

Does Leader Same-sex Sexual Orientation Matter to Leadership Effectiveness? A Four-study Model-testing Investigation.

Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States (U.S.) and an increasing number of out gay and lesbian business leaders, we have little knowledge of the role played by leaders’ same-sex sexual orientation in the leadership process. To fill this important research void, we drew from a recent theoretical model on leaders’ sexual orientation and conducted four experimental studies designed to test and retest whether leaders’ same-sex sexual orientation affects followers’ leadership perceptions and conformity to influence attempts, and how the intersectionality of leaders’ same-sex sexual orientation with leaders’ gender orientation and follower characteristics may modify the influences of leaders’ same-sex sexual orientation on the follower outcomes. Based on over 2,100 working adults in the U.S., the results of the four studies, where leaders were depicted as charismatic, indicate that leaders’ same-sex sexual orientation could have negative impacts on the follower outcomes. However, same-sex sexual orientation leaders did not suffer double stigma penalization by having additional marginalized identities (e.g., also being women). Female followers were more supportive of same-sex sexual orientation leaders than male followers. Our research advances knowledge of and responds to calls for more research attention to leader sexual orientation in the leadership process. Research and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Reproductive Ethics and Family

Reproductive Ethics and Family

“Strong Together”: Minority Stress, Internalized Homophobia, Relationship Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms among Taiwanese Young Gay Men

ABSTRACT Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage affords legal status for romantic relationships between sexual minority individuals. Yet, little is known about the role of intimate relationships in the experiences of minority stress and mental health among gay men. This study tested a model where internalized homophobia mediated the association between distal minority stress and depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction was posited as a moderator. Data came from a sample (n = 557) of Taiwanese young gay men who were in a romantic relationship. Respondents completed the scales of distal minority stress, internalized homophobia, relationship satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed on the macro PROCESS. The Johnson-Neyman (J-N) technique was used to interpret the moderating effect of relationship satisfaction. Results show that both distal minority stress and internalized homophobia were positively associated with depressive symptoms. Internalized homophobia partially mediated the association between distal minority stress and depressive symptoms. Relationship satisfaction had a moderating effect. The effect of distal minority stress was lower among those who reported high satisfaction in their current romantic relationship. This study suggested that a satisfying relationship provides protection for gay men’s mental health. Clinicians should attend to relationship issues when working with sexual minority clients.

Marriage Equality Blues: Method and Mess around the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey

ABSTRACT This article examines the attitudes and experiences of participants in the 2017 Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey through an interdisciplinary collaboration joining insights from the humanities and social sciences. Prior analyses of the Survey results, both in academic scholarship and media commentary, have focused on particular social characteristics of those who supported or opposed the legalisation of same-sex marriage. Building on this foundation, we analyse the differential attitudes and experiences of heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants who voted – or declined to vote – in the Survey. Our analysis draws on original data from a representative survey of Australian voters conducted in 2019 in which we asked participants to reflect on their reasons for voting, their experience of the campaign and their attitudes towards the result. Our data indicate that heterosexual and non-heterosexual voters had distinct and different experiences of the Survey and were motivated to participate for different reasons. The statistical evidence also prompts further reflection on qualitative and quantitative methodologies and the role they play in describing social experience.

Socio-legal Implication of Legalising Same-Sex Marriage in Cultural Yoruba Society, Osun State, Nigeria

Previous studies on same-sex marriage have only examined the discourse of same-sex marriage through the lens of religion, morality and philosophy. Others include political and human rights perspective in Nigeria with paucity of research on socio-legal dimension. Therefore, this paper assesses the socio-legal consequences that are plausible with the legalisation of same-sex marriage in cultural Yoruba society. The exploratory design was employed with a total of 20 respondents (community and traditional leaders and law enforcement officers) recruited through purposive and convenience recruitment strategies. The semistructure interview approach was used for data collection and the NVivo (v. 12) qualitative software was employed in identifying themes from the transcripts interview. The study reveals a range of perception about same-sex marriage including exposure to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as well as HIV/AIDS, and the challenge of procreation which remains a sacrosanct need of marriage. Social implication reveals a taboo to existing cultural tradition, norms, values and customs of the Yoruba cultural society and a blasphemy to religion which can trigger societal unrest. The legal implication uncovered include that same sex exudes a danger to public morality, with 14 years imprisonments for offenders and 10 years for accomplices. The analysis takes the position of the constitution of gender ministry by the Osun State government where issues of same-sex marriage can be effectively addressed for the sanity of the cultural Yoruba.

Wild Child: Intensive Parenting and Posthumanist EthicsLegally Straight: Sexuality, Childhood, and the Cultural Value of Marriage

Wild Child: Intensive Parenting and Posthumanist EthicsLegally Straight: Sexuality, Childhood, and the Cultural Value of Marriage

Measuring the Impact of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage among Sexual Minority Women

Reductions in structural stigma, such as gaining access to legalized same-sex marriage, is associated with positive psychological and physical health outcomes among sexual minority adults. However, these positive outcomes may be less robust among sexual minority women (SMW; e.g., lesbian, bisexual, queer) than sexual minority men and new measures are needed to develop a more nuanced understanding of the impact of affirming policies on the health and well-being of SMW. This study assessed the psychometric properties of measures developed to assess the psychosocial impacts of legalized same-sex marriage on the lives of SMW. Participants (N = 446) completed an online survey assessing the psychosocial impact of legalized same-sex marriage in five domains: (1) personal impact, (2) stigma-related concerns, (3) couple impact, (4) LGBTQ community impact, and (5) political/social environment. Psychometric properties of the scales were examined using traditional and Rasch analyses. Personal, concerns, couple, and political/social environment scales demonstrated high internal consistency (α > 0.80), and acceptable levels of reliability even when scales reduced to five items each. The LGBTQ community scale demonstrated adequate internal consistency (α = 0.79) and could only be reduced to 9 items. These scales may be useful in future studies of SMW health and well-being.

The vulnerable self: narratives of heterosexual marriage in Taiwan

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’.

Perceived psychosocial impacts of legalized same-sex marriage: A scoping review of sexual minority adults' experiences.

A growing body of literature provides important insights into the meaning and impact of the right to marry a same-sex partner among sexual minority people. We conducted a scoping review to 1) identify and describe the psychosocial impacts of equal marriage rights among sexual minority adults, and 2) explore sexual minority women (SMW) perceptions of equal marriage rights and whether psychosocial impacts differ by sex. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework we reviewed peer-reviewed English-language publications from 2000 through 2019. We searched six databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, JSTOR, and Sociological s) to identify English language, peer-reviewed journal articles reporting findings from empirical studies with an explicit focus on the experiences and perceived impact of equal marriage rights among sexual minority adults. We found 59 studies that met our inclusion criteria. Studies identified positive psychosocial impacts of same-sex marriage (e.g., increased social acceptance, reduced stigma) across individual, interpersonal (dyad, family), community (sexual minority), and broader societal levels. Studies also found that, despite equal marriage rights, sexual minority stigma persists across these levels. Only a few studies examined differences by sex, and findings were mixed. Research to date has several limitations; for example, it disproportionately represents samples from the U.S. and White populations, and rarely examines differences by sexual or gender identity or other demographic characteristics. There is a need for additional research on the impact of equal marriage rights and same-sex marriage on the health and well-being of diverse sexual minorities across the globe.

The effect of same-sex marriage legalization on interstate migration in the USA

This paper analyzes the impact of marriage regulations on the migratory behavior of individuals using the history of the liberalization of same-sex marriage across the USA. The legalization of same-sex marriage allows homosexuals’ access to legal rights and social benefits, which can make marriage more attractive in comparison to singlehood or other forms of partnership. The results clearly show that legalization increased the migration flow of gay men to states that legalized same-sex marriage. We do not detect statistically significant effects for women in the short term. Supplemental analysis, developed to explore whether the migration flow translated to a significant effect on the number of homosexuals by state, suggests that the increase after the legalization of same-sex marriage was transitory. Legalization of same-sex marriage also reduces the incentives for non-US-native individuals originating from intolerant countries to move to a state that permits same-sex marriage.

Actions for Queering American Public Administration

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) visibility has exponentially grown over the past half century. In one lifetime, America has borne witness to the Stonewall Riots, AIDS epidemic, legalization of same-sex marriage, and debates for transgender individuals to openly serve in the military. Yet, scholarship in top public administration journals has rarely examined how LGBTQ+ milestones relate to policy development, implementation, and service-delivery. This exposes a discrepancy between what scholars study, what practitioners face, and what queer communities need. Building on the Social Equity Manifesto, this manuscript offers recommendations for incorporating queer perspectives into research, teaching, and instruction, offering a more inclusive and intersectional agenda.

Evidence on the Economic Consequences of Marriage Equality and LGBT Human Rights

The recent wave of same-sex marriage legalization marks the most significant human rights progress in decades. Nevertheless, the valuation effects on corporate America are unclear. While the arguments supporting marriage equality are largely in the domain of law and sociology, many prominent business leaders are actively engaged in campaigns advocating marriage equality. This suggests that the LGBT civil rights movement of our generation might have valuation implications for corporate America beyond human rights equality. This paper investigates the market perception of state-level same-sex marriage legalization by examining the short-window market reactions to firms headquartered in a state. We find positive market reactions to firms headquartered in states that legally recognize marriage equality. Further, we find that the market views companies more favorably in: (1) first-mover states before the Supreme Court ruling of United States v. Windsor, and (2) states that have stronger anti-discrimination laws for the LGBT community. Our findings complement prior research that focuses on the economic consequences of firm-level LGBT human rights policies by examining the state/nation-level legal impact, adding a new dimension to ethical practices that can have economic consequences.

Proactive Opinion Expression Avoidance about Same-Sex Marriage on Social Media: Acceptance, Reactance, and Self-Censorship

ABSTRACT This study examines Facebook users’ intentions to adopt proactive opinion expression avoidance strategies (hide a post, unfollow, temporarily snooze, and unfriend a contact) when reacting to opposing views, using the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan as the focal issue. Two personal attributes—psychological reactance and willingness to self-censor—are incorporated into the technology acceptance model to verify dispositional and technological influences on user intention. The results of an online survey (N = 910) confirm that Facebook users prone to self-censorship—and expressing higher levels of reactance—are more likely to adopt this set of strategies. Moreover, study findings identify the pivotal roles of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the strategies that mediate the adoption process. Implications are discussed to help enrich knowledge about the determinants of proactive opinion expression avoidance behaviors and to broaden the application of this research topic, in domains ranging from politics to social issues.

Radicalization of the rightwing in France: from the failure of the European constitution and “La Manif Pour Tous” to Éric Zemmour

The author of the article uses the newest French scientific literature, Mass Media materials and analytical research of social organizations to study the evolution of the process of polarization of political life in France and radicalization of the rightwing, in which moderate ideas give way to the rightist ones. The failure of the European constitution referendum in 2005, the legalization of same-sex marriage by the French Parliament in 2013, François Fillon’s victory in the primaries of the rightists and the centrists in 2016 - are the crucial steps in the process of radicalization of the rightwing in France. The author gives special attention to Éric Zemmour’s ideas and his role in the modern political system of the Fifth Republic. Zemmour intentionally puts the question of preservation of national and religious identity of France and the problem of the spread of Islam in the country to the centre of political discussion, adding the islamophobia issue to the Marine Le Pen’s arabophobia and trying to make a new core of France’s political life out of the confrontation of the moderate and the radical ideas, as it was with the struggle of the rightwing and the leftwing before 2017. Zemmour has no chances to win the 2022 election, and his participation is questionable, however the popularity of his ideas can lead to the formation of a new pole of France’s politics as a result of the 2022 election - Identitarian, conservative and Catholic.   

Evidence for Hope?: Mississippi Christians’ Views Toward Gay and Lesbian Equality Post Obergefell v. Hodges

Despite the legalization of same-sex marriage, gay and lesbian people still lack full rights and equality in the USA. People in the USA who adhere to conservative religion and politics continue to create obstacles to full equality for gay and lesbian citizens. Through semi-structured, qualitative interviews, I provide an exploratory look at the shifting views toward gay and lesbian equality by highlighting the stories of six Mississippi Christians’ over a 6-year period. Overall, the six Mississippi Christians who agreed to participate in a follow-up interview in 2019 all became more accepting of gay and lesbian people and more open to gay and lesbian equality in the USA to various degrees. Continued social contact with gay and lesbian people, along with policy changes in the USA, led to more acceptance of gay and lesbian Americans by southern Christians. Striving to bring conservative Christians along on this journey toward more acceptance and support of gay and lesbian equality is not a futile effort. Christians who are “on-the-fence” are slowly progressing toward more acceptance. While religion may serve as a negative feature that deters the positive benefits of social contact, knowing someone who identifies as gay or lesbian remains a vital component of bringing more moderate Christians to acceptance of gay and lesbian people and rights.

SAME-SEX RELATIONS AND LEGAL TRADITIONS IN CAMEROON AND SOUTH AFRICA

AbstractThis essay revisits the debates and legal contests that grew in Cameroon at the turn of the millennium but failed to bring justice for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. Several members of sexual minorities were tried in Cameroon courts and sentenced to serve jail time. In order to reflect on the state of legal limbo for LGBTQ people in Cameroon, I also revisit the South African caseMinister of Home Affairs and the Director General of Home Affairs versus Marie Adrianna Fourie and Cecelia Johanna Bonthuys, which led to legalization of same-sex relationships and marriage in South Africa. In the first and longer part of the essay, I discuss the situation in Cameroon and South Africa. In the second part, I briefly discuss the different legal outcomes in the two countries. I conclude with a brief discussion of signs of hope in the critical dialogue on justice in the debate on same-sex relations in Africa. My goal in this essay is not to offer expert opinion on the legal entanglements on the question of same-sex relations, but to demonstrate that legal and constitutional protections offer the best chance for gaining the rights of LGBTQ people in Africa.