Same-sex Marriage Research Articles

Becoming a legitimate actor: “Rainbow pastors” and same-sex marriage within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland

This article explores the public discussion in the media where a group of religious activists who call themselves rainbow pastors are constructed as a legitimate actor in terms of the same-sex marriage debate within the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF). Same-sex marriage was legalized in Finland in March 2017. The majority of the population and members of the ELCF support same-sex couples’ right to marry. However, it is not officially approved within the ELCF, which causes polarization. This study draws on a neo-institutionalist framework of epistemic governance to identify the discursive representations and justifications presented in the media. The activists aimed to convince the church decision-makers and general public of the need for institutional change regarding the religious understanding of marriage while the media pushed its own agenda. The data for this study consist of news articles in which the issue of the ELCF and same-sex marriage was discussed. Four discursive representations were identified: contesting the authority of the ELCF, creating heroic narratives, drawing on common moral principles, and normalizing same-sex marriage. The findings show that the debate also turned into a battle over authority, in which the rainbow pastors challenged the official power structures of the ELCF.

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE AND THE THIRD GENDER

LGBTQIA+ community across the world has been fighting tooth and nail for their rights and establishing their legal identity across the globe. From fighting for rights of equal opportunity to equal recognition of their capabilities, this community has seen it all. From one but huge victory by decriminalizing of Section 377 of IPC, to claiming recognition to same- sex marriage in India, we have come a long way. Supreme Court in the petition for Same-Sex Marriage rights, it was well observed that it would hurdle the whole fraternity of Personal Laws. But what was completely out of picture during the debate of this petition was the Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population faces more difficult outcomes compared to the heterosexual population “across different life domains, including mental and physical health, subjective wellbeing, employment, poverty, homelessness, and social exclusion. IPV in the LGBTQ population has not been studied as frequently as in the heterosexual population.

The Cross-Regional Impact of Taiwan’s Same-Sex Marriage Legalisation: The Queer Economy of Welfare Mix

This article builds a bridge between research on the queer economy and that on the mixed economy of welfare by developing the ‘queer economy of welfare mix’ framework. While the two fields are related, there is a lack of discussion about the queer dimensions of the mixed economy of welfare or the mixed strategies employed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals to explore the benefits and limitations of the queer economy. The purpose of our framework is to show how local and transnational goods provided by the mixed economy of welfare can enable LGBTQ+ individuals to organise their welfare through the mixed strategies – citizen strategy, consumer strategy, and consumer-citizen strategy. By examining Taiwan’s legalised same-sex marriage and its impact on Hong Kong and Mainland China, we demonstrate the empirical significance of the framework, which serves as an analytical tool for examining the government’s role in promoting LGBTQ+ individuals’ welfare and the challenges involved.

Cultural wars and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) rights in Southeast Asia: ‘Asian values’, human rights, and the ‘homosexual turn’

Some have argued that we are seeing a ‘homosexual turn’ in Southeast Asia. Decriminalization of sodomy, legal recognition of same-sex marriage, and discussions regarding trans rights have all taken place in the last decade. However, a backlash has emerged as well. Governmental censure of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender issues has escalated, with politicians espousing anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rhetoric and warning against importing ‘cultural wars’ from the West into Asia. The lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights debate is becoming the new cultural battleground in Asia, with ‘Asian’ and ‘family’ centered values being pitted against ‘Western hegemony’ and ‘moral corruption’. As lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender activists advocate for more recognition, the ‘traditional’ heteronormative family is further institutionalized and valorized. This article aims to interrogate the ‘cultural wars’ in Asia as reflected in the tension between burgeoning lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender activism and the enduring privilege of heteronormative families. It will explore this cultural clash through the following three dimensions: (1) rights framing, (2) competition over resources, and (3) political backlash. Ultimately, though, the article argues that as opposed to seeing this tension as a ‘cultural war’, instead we should see this conflict as developmental growing pains, as the region continues to evolve, and nation-states begin to grapple with the burgeoning rights and an irrepressible recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender identities that had been buried under layers of ideologies, from political to moral.

Exploring Discursive Positionings and Negotiations of Gender Diversity in English Language Teaching Through the Lens of Critical Pedagogy

This study explores EFL students’ perceptions of gender diversity by analyzing their interactions about Chile’s same-sex marriage law in 2022. The study focused on fostering linguistic and critical skills through classroom discussions. A safe space for open conversations allowed students to express diverse views on gender diversity. While opinions varied, students’ discussions were navigated respectfully and indicated that the pedagogical approach used by the teacher encourages critical awareness of societal inequalities in Chile.

Legislators’ accountability for issue stances: evidence from Australia’s Marriage Law Postal Survey

ABSTRACT For legislators to be held accountable for their stances voters need to sanction unpopular positions. However, because of strong party discipline it is difficult to identify the effects of individual MPs’ stances rather than the stance of their party, because MPs almost always have the same stance as their party. Researchers must therefore study issues which cut across parties or where parties allowed representatives to follow their conscience. Same-sex marriage is one such issue. We use data from the 2017 marriage law survey and subsequent 2019 federal election results to test whether MPs whose referendum positions were out-of-step with their district faced electoral sanction. We find that a standard deviation increase in congruence at the level of the polling place catchment area yields a statistically and substantively insignificant change in vote share of −0.1 percentage points. The results question the degree to which electors control their representatives beyond voting for a party label.

The Pinnacle Impacts Of The Community Policing As A Pillar In Sustaining Global Peace

The community policing is the measures and actions taken by a variety of institutions and groups both formal and non-formal in the society to regulate social relations and practices in order to secure the safety of members of communal state as well as conformity to the norms and values of the society in questions mostly through shaming theory school of thought, the pre-colonial, the colonial period and the post-colonial eras each of which have represented various policing realities in Nigeria. Each of the periods captures the unique contemporaneous social relations and perceived crime reality. The quest to maintain law and order and enforce the rules of the government has led to the emergence of different policing styles in Nigeria. Though the people had their own unique and informal means of maintain value and order embedded in the culture and traditions of various indigenous and ethnic status. To attain global peace community policing needs global in-looks. Community policing will enhance global peace by militating against all odds from the grassroots’ criminal ventures such as rumors/hate speech, wars, kidnapping, physical/sphere assaults, rape, terrorism, insurgent activities, ritualist, bribing/corruption practices, school dropout, civil unrest, erosions, addiction/ substance usage, riots, human trafficking, prostitution, lesbianism, gay marriage, religion bigotry, malpractice of all kinds, fraudsters’, molestation of any such, fake news, environmental pollution, militancy, agitator, banditry, cultism, stealing, assassination, Ponzi scheme, coup junta and units of others contemporary global issues.

Legal recognition of LGB-parent families and science. An interview with Mar González.

Mar González is a psychologist and one of the pioneers in studies on LGB-parent families in Spain. Her research work from the 2000s onwards played an essential role in the parliamentary debate in the country, which culminated in the approval of same-sex marriage in 2005. Spain, a Catholic-majority country that had left the Franco dictatorship three decades earlier, was the third country in the world, after Belgium and Netherlands, to recognize the right of gay and lesbian people to unite. Her studies address unconventional families, family diversity, child and family development, and their relationship with education and health. Our conversation addressed LBG parenthood, the establishment of filiation rights for this social group, studies on these family configurations, and leading LGB parenthood health implications.

Marriage Equality Around the World: A Myth or Reality

Abstract: First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the carriage." This children's riddle shows that the right to marry and start a family is granted to many, but not to all. The prominent Call for legalizing same-sex marriage is growing around the world, but whether and to what extent that acceptance will lead to amplified social acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. As the relationship of lesbian and gay couples has been considered taboo for centuries. The legalization of same-sex unions, or marriage equality, has been a persistent global concern. The rights of the LGBT+ community have seen a considerable shift in recent years, with the legalization of same-sex marriages in many nations. By 2023, 34 nations have allowed same-sex Marriage; the Netherlands was the first to do so in 2001. Only one nation in Asia (Taiwan) and one nation in Africa (South Africa) permit same-sex unions, with the majority of these nations being in Europe and the Americas. The LGBT+ community still experiences prejudice and persecution in many nations where same-sex marriage is illegal. Even the death penalty is used as punishment for homosexuality in some nations. Despite this, the initiative for marriage equality is still flourishing, with more and more nations recognizing same-sex couples' legal rights to marry and getting the same protections and advantages as opposite-sex couples.

A Pious Paradox

The divergent trajectories in the legalization of same-sex marriage amidst disparate levels of religiosity challenges conventional wisdom about the relationship between religion, state, and society. Contrary to the conventional belief that higher religiosity in countries fosters conservative views and resistance to progressive social reforms, Argentina and Chile present an intriguing anomaly. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey and examining the historical, political, and social contexts of each country, this paper seeks to understand why Argentina, with its higher religiosity and constitutional favoritism towards Catholicism, became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2010, while Chile, less religious but more socially conservative, followed much later in 2021. The paper explores the divergent pre and post-dictatorship economic philosophies, governmental structures, sociopolitical landscapes and the distinct roles of the Catholic Church in 21st century Chilean and Argentine politics. It argues that in Argentina, individual political views and a vibrant civil society have developed independently of religious beliefs, fostering a political culture more open to progressive social reform. Conversely, Chile’s entrenched neoliberal policies and the Catholic Church’s sustained influence in Chilean civil society align with more conservative social values, impeding similar progress. These findings challenge the assumption that higher levels of religiosity necessarily correlate with social conservatism and underscore the complex interplay between religion, government, and social values. This research not only illuminates the nuanced dynamics at play in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Latin America but also suggests broader implications for understanding the impact of religiosity on political and social attitudes globally.

Contrasting Approaches to Managing the Debate on Same-Sex Blessing and Same-Sex Marriage in New Zealand and Australia: Applying Insights from Jungian Psychological Type Theory

Abstract In October 2022 the Church of England commissioned an examination of the impact of the debate on same-sex blessing and same-sex marriage within other Anglican Churches. The examination involved a literature search, an original survey among key informers and a general internet search. This paper draws on the general internet search to contrast the impacts in New Zealand and Australia. Drawing on Jungian psychological type theory, this analysis employs the contrasting decision-making functions of feeling (concerned with subjective interpersonal values) and thinking (concerned with objective logical analysis). The data suggest that the feeling approach dominant in New Zealand, which prioritized offering space and time for those of differing opinions to meet together, reported more positive outcomes than the thinking approach dominant in Australia, which gave greater priority to adversarial debate.

A review of the effects of legal access to same‐sex marriage

AbstractOn June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court extended nationwide legal access to same‐sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges, following a series of court cases and legislative activities at the state and district levels. Similar policies have diffused throughout other countries, especially in western Europe and the Americas. Researchers have used the staggered rollout of legal same‐sex marriage and related policies in the U.S. and elsewhere, along with improved data on lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, to study the effects of marriage equality. In this paper, we review this evidence, focusing on outcomes such as societal attitudes, marriage take‐up, family formation, employment, time use, health insurance coverage, and health. We discuss conceptual frameworks for understanding the likely effects of same‐sex marriage; methodological considerations for studying treatment effects; the policy context surrounding legal same‐sex marriage, including the 2023 Respect for Marriage Act; and important areas for future research.

Public authority and the will of the people: to the 100th anniversary of the birth of E. I. Kozlova

The article deals with the main issues of power and the will of the people, associated with the activities of public authorities. Consideration of these issues is based on the works of Professor E. I. Kozlova. It is noted that the content of a democratic state should be based on the values of the society of a particular state, without establishing the primacy of a single standard of a liberal state. Building a democratic state may be associated with the solution of the following tasks: achieving a balance of interests of the whole society and the minority; creating conditions for a broad discussion of issues of state and public importance; providing access to information about the activities of public authorities; historical succession of state building. It is noted that these tasks are solved in law through the introduction of public discussion of bills; fixing traditional values in constitutional law and sectoral legislation and ensuring their protection (protection of the feelings of believers, a ban on the rehabilitation of Nazism, a ban on same-sex marriages). At the same time, it is proposed: to introduce criteria and grounds for mandatory public discussions for public authorities; legislative consolidation of the publication of transcripts of meetings of public authorities that do not contain state secrets. In the development of the theory of democracy E. I. Kozlova, the author notes that the list of forms of realization of national sovereignty cannot be closed, it is constantly updated and developed by the peoples themselves, in accordance with their will.

Saying “I Don’t”: Queer Romance in the Post–Marriage Equality World

Saying “I Don’t”: Queer Romance in the Post–Marriage Equality World

Reclaiming the Silenced History of LGBTIQA+ Activism and the HIV/AIDS Crisis through Irish Theatre. An Interview with Phillip McMahon

The playwright and theatre director Phillip McMahon is also co-founder and co-director of THISISPOPBABY, a Dublin arts company founded in 2007 and said to have redefined modern Irish theatre, ripping up the space between popular culture, counterculture and high art. Their shows have played and toured around Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, and beyond. THISISPOPBABY voices queer culture on stage making space for the history and stories of the LGBTIQA+ Irish community positioning itself between performance and politics. The first play written by McMahon purely with LGBTIQA+ characters is Once Before I Go (2021), in which he explores and examines the legacy of the AIDS crisis in Irish queer lives. McMahon does not only voice the community’s historic pain, shame, and stigma, but he also foregrounds the fact that, despite marriage equality, the LGBTIQA+ rights movement has not come to an end. In fact, he claims that, after the COVID-19 pandemic, a wider society is ready to hear stories that have been long buried, forgotten, and suppressed.

Marriage Expectations Among Different Groups of Gender and Sexual Minority Youth in the United States

Objective The study aims to analyze marriage expectations among sexual minority youth in the United States. Background The possibility of marriage for same-sex couples is recent in the United States. As same-sex couples used to be excluded from getting married, LGB adults have expressed concerns about the institution of marriage and have been less likely than their heterosexual peers to consider it for themselves. However, research is lacking when considering marriage expectations and attitudes regarding marriage among LGBTQ youth. Method We use wave 2 of the SOGI-Q Health Study, a community sample of 542 LGBTQ youth aged 15–21 collected in 2013, a time prior to federal marriage equality. We assessed measured marriage expectations, both to a same-sex partner and to a different-sex partner, as well as attitudes regarding marriage. Results Results indicated that gay and lesbian youth were more likely than queer and bisexual youth to expect to get married to a same-sex partner. Individual factors (e.g., higher levels of disclosure to family members) and structural factors (e.g., knowing a married same-sex couple), were associated with higher marriage expectations to a same-sex partner. Religiosity was associated with higher expectations of marriage to a different-sex partner. Conclusion Sexual identity, religiosity, disclosure, and knowing married same-sex couples were significantly associated with LGBTQ youths’ expectations to marry a same-sex and/or different-sex partner, as well as their attitudes about marriage more broadly. Implications Attitudes and expectations regarding marriage among sexual minority youth have implications for their future couple and family formation, which are broadly associated with well-being across the adult lifespan.

Legal entrepreneurship and the evolution of multidimensional advocacy in social movements: the case of marriage equality

AbstractThe emergence and dissemination of new legal ideas can play an important role in sparking change in the way activists in marginalized communities understand their rights and pursue their objectives. How and why do the legal beliefs of such communities evolve? We argue that the vigorous advocacy of new legal ideas by entrepreneurs and the harnessing of specialized media to help disseminate those ideas are important mechanisms in this evolution. We use the rise of marriage equality as a central legal priority in the mainstream American LGBTQ+ rights movement as a case study to illustrate this phenomenon. Using a mixed-methods analysis of Evan Wolfson’s legal advocacy and an examination of The Advocate, we investigate how Wolfson developed and disseminated legal ideas about same-sex marriage. We show how this advocacy eventually dominated discussion of the issue among elite LGBTQ+ legal actors and the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ publication. However, Wolfson’s advocacy tended to emphasize LGBTQ+ integration into “mainstream” American culture and prioritized the interests and values of relatively privileged subgroups within the LGBTQ+ community. Our research informs our understanding of the interplay between legal advocacy and media reporting in the development of LGBTQ+ rights claims and the strategies adopted to achieve them.

Same-Sex Marriage and Employer Choices about Domestic Partner Benefits

Same-Sex Marriage and Employer Choices about Domestic Partner Benefits

When the Rainbow is Bittersweet: Reflections on Being Queer and Indian in Durban

South Africa is one of the few countries in Africa that no longer criminalises same-sex sexual activity, and the only one to recognise same-sex marriage under the legal system. Yet, at the same time, several groups in the country practice a conservatism that discourages people from being themselves, be it in professing their gender or their sexuality. This article explores the trials and tribulations of making a documentary film with a minority population within one such minority population – Queer and Indian – in Durban, the site of the largest number of Indians outside India. Written in a reflective style that frames the positioning of the authors, a key question posed is: what are the daily issues that queer South African people deal with? Battling with conservatism while trying to find one’s queer voice is just one of them. The film engages with a few people who were generous to allow us to use their experiences with the state, the society, and healthcare. How does one reconcile the Rainbow Nation, the promise of constitutional equality with the insularity that people face on a regular basis? This article aims to be the start of a much larger conversation that needs to be had.

Beyond Gender Norms: Deepening Understanding of Transgender Individuals in Taiwan

<p>隨著同性婚姻合法化，社會對性少數議題關注增加，但跨性別相關議題仍未受到足夠重視。本文從不強調生理性別、不隨意幫人出櫃、以及適當的稱讚方式等方面，提出對跨性別者的互動需注意的要點。在臨床和日常生活中，尊重性別認同、避免刻板印象，有助於建立更友善、尊重的溝通氛圍。</p> <p> </p><p>Since the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan in May 2019, Taiwanese citizens have become increasingly aware of the concerns of sexual minorities. One subgroup of sexual minorities that continues to be underappreciated is transgender individuals. This article offers several recommendations for sensitively interacting with transgender individuals, such as not emphasizing their biological sex, refraining from outing individuals against their wishes, and avoiding inappropriate words of praise. In both clinical and daily settings, respecting gender identity and avoiding stereotypes helps establish a friendly and respectful atmosphere.</p> <p> </p>