Wednesday, February 1, 2017

Why conservatives fear gay marriage

I never got why conservatives feared that gay marriage would undermine traditional marriage until I read an essay by Rebecca Solnit in her book Men Explain Things to Me.  

Same-sex marriages are generally marriages between equals.  They are non-hierarchical.  Both members of the marriage unit often keep their own names.  

Before you tell me that your marriage is a union of equals, I have a couple of questions.  Did the wife take the husband’s name?  Whose name did the kids take?  When you sign your income tax statement, who signs first, and who is the “spouse”?  Who does most of the housework?


Traditional marriage still results in a male-dominated relationship in almost all cases.  Same-sex unions avoid that trap, and, as a result, threaten old hierarchies.

1 comment:

  1. That's because they do not respect women and want them in the house so they can dominate.

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