Cheshire Calhoun
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257669
- eISBN:
- 9780191598906
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257663.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book is about placing sexual orientation politics within feminist theorizing. It is also about defining the central political issues confronting lesbian and gay men. It brings the study of ...
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This book is about placing sexual orientation politics within feminist theorizing. It is also about defining the central political issues confronting lesbian and gay men. It brings the study of lesbians from the margins of feminist theory to the centre by critiquing the analytic frameworks employed within feminist theory that render invisible the difference of lesbians from heterosexual women. The basic features of lesbian and gay subordination are also addressed by exploring the differences between heterosexual dominance and gender and race relations. Throughout the book, the aim is to re‐centre lesbian and gay politics away from concern with sexual regulations and towards concern with the displacement of gays and lesbians from the public sphere of visible citizenship and from the private sphere of romance, marriage, and family.Less
This book is about placing sexual orientation politics within feminist theorizing. It is also about defining the central political issues confronting lesbian and gay men. It brings the study of lesbians from the margins of feminist theory to the centre by critiquing the analytic frameworks employed within feminist theory that render invisible the difference of lesbians from heterosexual women. The basic features of lesbian and gay subordination are also addressed by exploring the differences between heterosexual dominance and gender and race relations. Throughout the book, the aim is to re‐centre lesbian and gay politics away from concern with sexual regulations and towards concern with the displacement of gays and lesbians from the public sphere of visible citizenship and from the private sphere of romance, marriage, and family.
Amy C. Steinbugler
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199743551
- eISBN:
- 9780199979370
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199743551.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
This book examines interracial intimacy in the beginning of the twenty-first century, an era rife with racial contradictions in which interracial relationships are increasingly seen as ...
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This book examines interracial intimacy in the beginning of the twenty-first century, an era rife with racial contradictions in which interracial relationships are increasingly seen as forward-thinking symbols of racial progress, even as old stereotypes about illicit eroticism endure. With extensive qualitative research, this book examines the racial dynamics of everyday life for lesbian, gay, and heterosexual Black/White couples. It disputes the notion that interracial partners are enlightened subjects who have somehow managed to “get beyond” race. Instead, for many partners interracial intimacy represents not the end, but rather the beginning of a sustained process of negotiating racial differences. This research reveals the ordinary challenges that partners frequently face and the myriad ways in which race shapes partners’ interactions with each other, as well as with family members, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers.This book analyzes contemporary interracial lives through the lens of “racework”: the everyday actions and strategies by which individuals maintain close relationships in a society with deeply rooted racial inequalities. It explores how racework operates in three realms: public spaces, the internal dynamics of relationships, and in the construction of interracial identities. Comparing the experiences of gay and lesbian partners with heterosexual partners, it argues that sexuality and gender play a significant role in how partners use racework in negotiating public spaces and identities, but a minor role in how partners deal with inequalities inside their relationship. With a focus on racework, this book positions interracial intimacy as an ongoing process, rather than as a singular accomplishment.Less
This book examines interracial intimacy in the beginning of the twenty-first century, an era rife with racial contradictions in which interracial relationships are increasingly seen as forward-thinking symbols of racial progress, even as old stereotypes about illicit eroticism endure. With extensive qualitative research, this book examines the racial dynamics of everyday life for lesbian, gay, and heterosexual Black/White couples. It disputes the notion that interracial partners are enlightened subjects who have somehow managed to “get beyond” race. Instead, for many partners interracial intimacy represents not the end, but rather the beginning of a sustained process of negotiating racial differences. This research reveals the ordinary challenges that partners frequently face and the myriad ways in which race shapes partners’ interactions with each other, as well as with family members, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers.This book analyzes contemporary interracial lives through the lens of “racework”: the everyday actions and strategies by which individuals maintain close relationships in a society with deeply rooted racial inequalities. It explores how racework operates in three realms: public spaces, the internal dynamics of relationships, and in the construction of interracial identities. Comparing the experiences of gay and lesbian partners with heterosexual partners, it argues that sexuality and gender play a significant role in how partners use racework in negotiating public spaces and identities, but a minor role in how partners deal with inequalities inside their relationship. With a focus on racework, this book positions interracial intimacy as an ongoing process, rather than as a singular accomplishment.
Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149820
- eISBN:
- 9781400839773
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149820.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This book is a comprehensive social history of twentieth-century family law in the United States. The book shows how vast, oceanic changes in society have reshaped and reconstituted the American ...
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This book is a comprehensive social history of twentieth-century family law in the United States. The book shows how vast, oceanic changes in society have reshaped and reconstituted the American family. Women and children have gained rights and powers, and novel forms of family life have emerged. The family has more or less dissolved into a collection of independent individuals with their own wants, desires, and goals. Modern family law, as always, reflects the brute social and cultural facts of family life. The story of family law in the twentieth century is complex. This was the century that said goodbye to common-law marriage and breach-of-promise lawsuits. This was the century, too, of the sexual revolution and women's liberation, of gay rights and cohabitation. Marriage lost its powerful monopoly over legitimate sexual behavior. Couples who lived together without marriage now had certain rights. Gay marriage became legal in a handful of jurisdictions. By the end of the century, no state still prohibited same-sex behavior. Children in many states could legally have two mothers or two fathers. No-fault divorce became cheap and easy. And illegitimacy lost most of its social and legal stigma. These changes were not smooth or linear—all met with resistance and provoked a certain amount of backlash. Families took many forms, some of them new and different, and though buffeted by the winds of change, the family persisted as a central institution in society. This book tells the story of that institution, exploring the ways in which law tried to penetrate and control this most mysterious realm of personal life.Less
This book is a comprehensive social history of twentieth-century family law in the United States. The book shows how vast, oceanic changes in society have reshaped and reconstituted the American family. Women and children have gained rights and powers, and novel forms of family life have emerged. The family has more or less dissolved into a collection of independent individuals with their own wants, desires, and goals. Modern family law, as always, reflects the brute social and cultural facts of family life. The story of family law in the twentieth century is complex. This was the century that said goodbye to common-law marriage and breach-of-promise lawsuits. This was the century, too, of the sexual revolution and women's liberation, of gay rights and cohabitation. Marriage lost its powerful monopoly over legitimate sexual behavior. Couples who lived together without marriage now had certain rights. Gay marriage became legal in a handful of jurisdictions. By the end of the century, no state still prohibited same-sex behavior. Children in many states could legally have two mothers or two fathers. No-fault divorce became cheap and easy. And illegitimacy lost most of its social and legal stigma. These changes were not smooth or linear—all met with resistance and provoked a certain amount of backlash. Families took many forms, some of them new and different, and though buffeted by the winds of change, the family persisted as a central institution in society. This book tells the story of that institution, exploring the ways in which law tried to penetrate and control this most mysterious realm of personal life.
John Eekelaar
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535422
- eISBN:
- 9780191707384
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535422.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
The book sees the governance of personal relationships as the exercise of power, from the traditional assumptions of patriarchy and the control one generation seeks to exercise over its successor, to ...
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The book sees the governance of personal relationships as the exercise of power, from the traditional assumptions of patriarchy and the control one generation seeks to exercise over its successor, to the ideology of welfarism, where state institutions protect the interests of the vulnerable in accordance with its own perceptions of their interests. It argues that perceptions of rights are a significant counterpoise to such exercises of power. Against that background, it explores the interrelationship between the regulation by law of people's personal lives and the values of friendship, truth, respect, responsibility and community. A variety of controversial issues are examined in the light of those values including the legal regulation of gay and unmarried heterosexual relationships, freedom of procreation, state supervision over the exercise of parenthood, the role of fault in divorce law, the way parenthood is allocated, the rights and responsibilities of parents to control their children, the place of religion in the family, the rights of separated partners regarding property and financial support, and of separated parents regarding their children. The book offers a new picture of intimacy at the centre of personal relationships and sets out the elements for a conceptual framework according to which regulation of people's personal lives can be justified in an open society.Less
The book sees the governance of personal relationships as the exercise of power, from the traditional assumptions of patriarchy and the control one generation seeks to exercise over its successor, to the ideology of welfarism, where state institutions protect the interests of the vulnerable in accordance with its own perceptions of their interests. It argues that perceptions of rights are a significant counterpoise to such exercises of power. Against that background, it explores the interrelationship between the regulation by law of people's personal lives and the values of friendship, truth, respect, responsibility and community. A variety of controversial issues are examined in the light of those values including the legal regulation of gay and unmarried heterosexual relationships, freedom of procreation, state supervision over the exercise of parenthood, the role of fault in divorce law, the way parenthood is allocated, the rights and responsibilities of parents to control their children, the place of religion in the family, the rights of separated partners regarding property and financial support, and of separated parents regarding their children. The book offers a new picture of intimacy at the centre of personal relationships and sets out the elements for a conceptual framework according to which regulation of people's personal lives can be justified in an open society.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage ...
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The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage lead to more radical marriage reform? Should it? Antonin Scalia and many others on the right warn of a slippery slope from same-sex marriage toward polygamy, adult incest, and the dissolution of marriage as we know it. Equally, many academics, activists, and intellectuals on the left contend that there is no place for monogamous marriage as a special status defined by law. This book demonstrates that both sides are wrong: the same principles of democratic justice that demand marriage equality for same-sex couples also lend support to monogamous marriage. The book displays the groundlessness of arguments against same-sex marriage and defends marriage as a public institution against those who would eliminate its special status or supplant it with private arrangements. Arguing that monogamy reflects and cultivates our most basic democratic values, the book opposes the legal recognition of polygamy, but agrees with progressives that public policies should do more to support nontraditional caring and caregiving relationships. Throughout, the book explores the meaning of contemporary marriage and the reasons for its fragility and its enduring significance. Casting new light on today's debates over the future of marriage, the book lays the groundwork for a stronger institution.Less
The institution of marriage stands at a critical juncture. As gay marriage equality gains acceptance in law and public opinion, questions abound regarding marriage's future. Will same-sex marriage lead to more radical marriage reform? Should it? Antonin Scalia and many others on the right warn of a slippery slope from same-sex marriage toward polygamy, adult incest, and the dissolution of marriage as we know it. Equally, many academics, activists, and intellectuals on the left contend that there is no place for monogamous marriage as a special status defined by law. This book demonstrates that both sides are wrong: the same principles of democratic justice that demand marriage equality for same-sex couples also lend support to monogamous marriage. The book displays the groundlessness of arguments against same-sex marriage and defends marriage as a public institution against those who would eliminate its special status or supplant it with private arrangements. Arguing that monogamy reflects and cultivates our most basic democratic values, the book opposes the legal recognition of polygamy, but agrees with progressives that public policies should do more to support nontraditional caring and caregiving relationships. Throughout, the book explores the meaning of contemporary marriage and the reasons for its fragility and its enduring significance. Casting new light on today's debates over the future of marriage, the book lays the groundwork for a stronger institution.
Amin Ghaziani
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158792
- eISBN:
- 9781400850174
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158792.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
Gay neighborhoods, like the legendary Castro District in San Francisco and New York's Greenwich Village, have long provided sexual minorities with safe havens in an often unsafe world. But as our ...
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Gay neighborhoods, like the legendary Castro District in San Francisco and New York's Greenwich Village, have long provided sexual minorities with safe havens in an often unsafe world. But as our society increasingly accepts gays and lesbians into the mainstream, are “gayborhoods” destined to disappear? This book provides an incisive look at the origins of these unique cultural enclaves, the reasons why they are changing today, and their prospects for the future. Drawing on a wealth of evidenc—including census data, opinion polls, hundreds of newspaper reports from across the United States, and more than 100 original interviews with residents in Chicago, one of the most paradigmatic cities in America—the book argues that political gains and societal acceptance are allowing gays and lesbians to imagine expansive possibilities for a life beyond the gayborhood. The dawn of a new post-gay era is altering the character and composition of existing enclaves across the country, but the spirit of integration can coexist alongside the celebration of differences in subtle and sometimes surprising ways. Exploring the intimate relationship between sexuality and the city, the book reveals how gayborhoods, like the cities that surround them, are organic and continually evolving places. Gayborhoods have nurtured sexual minorities throughout the twentieth century and, despite the unstoppable forces of flux, will remain resonant and revelatory features of urban life.Less
Gay neighborhoods, like the legendary Castro District in San Francisco and New York's Greenwich Village, have long provided sexual minorities with safe havens in an often unsafe world. But as our society increasingly accepts gays and lesbians into the mainstream, are “gayborhoods” destined to disappear? This book provides an incisive look at the origins of these unique cultural enclaves, the reasons why they are changing today, and their prospects for the future. Drawing on a wealth of evidenc—including census data, opinion polls, hundreds of newspaper reports from across the United States, and more than 100 original interviews with residents in Chicago, one of the most paradigmatic cities in America—the book argues that political gains and societal acceptance are allowing gays and lesbians to imagine expansive possibilities for a life beyond the gayborhood. The dawn of a new post-gay era is altering the character and composition of existing enclaves across the country, but the spirit of integration can coexist alongside the celebration of differences in subtle and sometimes surprising ways. Exploring the intimate relationship between sexuality and the city, the book reveals how gayborhoods, like the cities that surround them, are organic and continually evolving places. Gayborhoods have nurtured sexual minorities throughout the twentieth century and, despite the unstoppable forces of flux, will remain resonant and revelatory features of urban life.
Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149820
- eISBN:
- 9781400839773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149820.003.0016
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This concluding chapter returns to the history of family law and the changes it has undergone throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Traditional morality has suffered serious defeats. ...
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This concluding chapter returns to the history of family law and the changes it has undergone throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Traditional morality has suffered serious defeats. Living in sin is no longer a sin for most people. Illegitimacy has lost its bite. Sodomy laws are history. Tough divorce laws have given way to no-fault. Gay marriage seems to be just beyond the horizon. All of this, in hindsight, has the smell of the inevitable; of course, no legal change occurred without a battle, sometimes a bitter one. Moreover, the chapter cautions against speculating on the future of family law, emphasizing that, as the history of family law shows, the future is not often as inevitable or predictable as one might think.Less
This concluding chapter returns to the history of family law and the changes it has undergone throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Traditional morality has suffered serious defeats. Living in sin is no longer a sin for most people. Illegitimacy has lost its bite. Sodomy laws are history. Tough divorce laws have given way to no-fault. Gay marriage seems to be just beyond the horizon. All of this, in hindsight, has the smell of the inevitable; of course, no legal change occurred without a battle, sometimes a bitter one. Moreover, the chapter cautions against speculating on the future of family law, emphasizing that, as the history of family law shows, the future is not often as inevitable or predictable as one might think.
Ruth Abbey
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195134087
- eISBN:
- 9780199785766
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195134087.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This book offers a close study of the works that have come to be known as constituting Friedrich Nietzsche’s middle period: Human, All Too Human, Daybreak, and the first four books of The Gay ...
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This book offers a close study of the works that have come to be known as constituting Friedrich Nietzsche’s middle period: Human, All Too Human, Daybreak, and the first four books of The Gay Science. Some of the value in reading these works is genealogical — they show how the later Nietzsche became the thinker he did. A related benefit of reading them is the help they give in avoiding generalizations about Nietzsche — views and attitudes associated with Nietzsche come to be seen as peculiar to one of his periods or some of his texts. However, it is also argued that these are rich and fruitful works, deserving attention in their own right. The Nietzsche delivered by a reading of these works is a more careful, moderate, and modest thinker than he is usually interpreted to be. In these works, Nietzsche offers many subtle psychological insights, and has a powerful sense of the dialogical nature of identity. He values relationships like marriage and friendship, and eschews some of the misogyny, individualism, and elitism of the later works.Less
This book offers a close study of the works that have come to be known as constituting Friedrich Nietzsche’s middle period: Human, All Too Human, Daybreak, and the first four books of The Gay Science. Some of the value in reading these works is genealogical — they show how the later Nietzsche became the thinker he did. A related benefit of reading them is the help they give in avoiding generalizations about Nietzsche — views and attitudes associated with Nietzsche come to be seen as peculiar to one of his periods or some of his texts. However, it is also argued that these are rich and fruitful works, deserving attention in their own right. The Nietzsche delivered by a reading of these works is a more careful, moderate, and modest thinker than he is usually interpreted to be. In these works, Nietzsche offers many subtle psychological insights, and has a powerful sense of the dialogical nature of identity. He values relationships like marriage and friendship, and eschews some of the misogyny, individualism, and elitism of the later works.
Amin Ghaziani
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158792
- eISBN:
- 9781400850174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158792.003.0007
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter examines how entire communities and specific groups migrate in ways that expand, evolve, and reinvent the very meaning and material expressions of gay neighborhoods. It asks where gays ...
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This chapter examines how entire communities and specific groups migrate in ways that expand, evolve, and reinvent the very meaning and material expressions of gay neighborhoods. It asks where gays and lesbians will go next and identifies two main patterns. First, when gays and lesbians leave an existing gayborhood, many of them collectively relocate to another area in the city, a trend that can be called a revival. Second, specific groups like same-sex families with children, people of color, and lesbians make distinct relocation decisions. While gays and lesbians generally are more dispersed in a post-gay era than they were in the 1970s and 1980s, these two patterns suggest that they can creatively reattach some of the positive aspects of gayborhoods to the places where they move. As they make daily decisions about where to live and socialize, gay people invent and reinvent the very meanings and material expressions of gay districts.Less
This chapter examines how entire communities and specific groups migrate in ways that expand, evolve, and reinvent the very meaning and material expressions of gay neighborhoods. It asks where gays and lesbians will go next and identifies two main patterns. First, when gays and lesbians leave an existing gayborhood, many of them collectively relocate to another area in the city, a trend that can be called a revival. Second, specific groups like same-sex families with children, people of color, and lesbians make distinct relocation decisions. While gays and lesbians generally are more dispersed in a post-gay era than they were in the 1970s and 1980s, these two patterns suggest that they can creatively reattach some of the positive aspects of gayborhoods to the places where they move. As they make daily decisions about where to live and socialize, gay people invent and reinvent the very meanings and material expressions of gay districts.
Cheshire Calhoun
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257669
- eISBN:
- 9780191598906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257663.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for future chapters by suggesting that feminist theorizing must make a methodological shift from thinking that heterosexism is just a by‐product of ...
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This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for future chapters by suggesting that feminist theorizing must make a methodological shift from thinking that heterosexism is just a by‐product of sexism, to thinking of lesbian and gay subordination as a separate axis of oppression that intersects with gender, race, and class axes of oppression. It also introduces the two central features of lesbian and gay subordination. The first of these is that the principal damaging effect of a heterosexist system is that it displaces lesbians and gays from both the public and private spheres of civil society so that they have no legitimated social location. The second is that the principal ideologies rationalizing lesbian and gay displacement are that there are only two natural and normal sexes/genders; that lesbian and gay sexuality is excessive, compulsive, and disconnected from romantic love; and that, for a variety of reasons, lesbians and gays are unfitted for marital and family life. The last part of the chapter makes general remarks on how the book fits into the essentialist–constructionist controversy.Less
This introductory chapter lays the groundwork for future chapters by suggesting that feminist theorizing must make a methodological shift from thinking that heterosexism is just a by‐product of sexism, to thinking of lesbian and gay subordination as a separate axis of oppression that intersects with gender, race, and class axes of oppression. It also introduces the two central features of lesbian and gay subordination. The first of these is that the principal damaging effect of a heterosexist system is that it displaces lesbians and gays from both the public and private spheres of civil society so that they have no legitimated social location. The second is that the principal ideologies rationalizing lesbian and gay displacement are that there are only two natural and normal sexes/genders; that lesbian and gay sexuality is excessive, compulsive, and disconnected from romantic love; and that, for a variety of reasons, lesbians and gays are unfitted for marital and family life. The last part of the chapter makes general remarks on how the book fits into the essentialist–constructionist controversy.
Cheshire Calhoun
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257669
- eISBN:
- 9780191598906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257663.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
It is argued that lesbian and gay subordination differs substantially in form from gender and racial oppression. In particular, it does not materialize in a disadvantaged place that would sharply ...
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It is argued that lesbian and gay subordination differs substantially in form from gender and racial oppression. In particular, it does not materialize in a disadvantaged place that would sharply reduce the access of lesbians and gay men as a group to basic social goods. Instead, lesbians and gays are systematically displaced to the outside of civil society so that they have no legitimized place, not even a disadvantaged one. The displacement occurs because of the requirement that all citizens adopt at least the appearance of a heterosexual identity as a condition of access to the public sphere. Various aspects of this displacement are addressed in detail.Less
It is argued that lesbian and gay subordination differs substantially in form from gender and racial oppression. In particular, it does not materialize in a disadvantaged place that would sharply reduce the access of lesbians and gay men as a group to basic social goods. Instead, lesbians and gays are systematically displaced to the outside of civil society so that they have no legitimized place, not even a disadvantaged one. The displacement occurs because of the requirement that all citizens adopt at least the appearance of a heterosexual identity as a condition of access to the public sphere. Various aspects of this displacement are addressed in detail.
Cheshire Calhoun
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257669
- eISBN:
- 9780191598906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257663.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The positive arguments for same‐sex marriage are discussed. The first argument links marriage rights to a normative ideal of long‐term, monogamous, sexually faithful intimacy, and defends marriage ...
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The positive arguments for same‐sex marriage are discussed. The first argument links marriage rights to a normative ideal of long‐term, monogamous, sexually faithful intimacy, and defends marriage rights based on the value of that ideal. The second argument presses the connection between homophobia and sexism, stressing the way that securing same‐sex marriage rights might reduce sexism. The third argument links the denial of marriage rights to the cultural construction of gay men and lesbians as outsiders to the family, who are for that reason defective citizens. In pursuing this third line of argument, the US House and Senate arguments supporting the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 are addressed.Less
The positive arguments for same‐sex marriage are discussed. The first argument links marriage rights to a normative ideal of long‐term, monogamous, sexually faithful intimacy, and defends marriage rights based on the value of that ideal. The second argument presses the connection between homophobia and sexism, stressing the way that securing same‐sex marriage rights might reduce sexism. The third argument links the denial of marriage rights to the cultural construction of gay men and lesbians as outsiders to the family, who are for that reason defective citizens. In pursuing this third line of argument, the US House and Senate arguments supporting the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) of 1996 are addressed.
Cheshire Calhoun
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257669
- eISBN:
- 9780191598906
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257663.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The first two sections of this chapter summarize feminist and lesbian critiques of the family, marriage, and motherhood. The third section critiques lesbian‐feminist reasons for eschewing a political ...
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The first two sections of this chapter summarize feminist and lesbian critiques of the family, marriage, and motherhood. The third section critiques lesbian‐feminist reasons for eschewing a political agenda that endorses family, marriage, and mothering. The fourth section traces the historical construction of lesbians and gays as outlaws to the family. In the concluding section, it is argued that making the family a political priority is not, as sometimes argued, a conservative move.Less
The first two sections of this chapter summarize feminist and lesbian critiques of the family, marriage, and motherhood. The third section critiques lesbian‐feminist reasons for eschewing a political agenda that endorses family, marriage, and mothering. The fourth section traces the historical construction of lesbians and gays as outlaws to the family. In the concluding section, it is argued that making the family a political priority is not, as sometimes argued, a conservative move.
John Ibson
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226656083
- eISBN:
- 9780226656250
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226656250.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gay and Lesbian Studies
Before the movement commonly described as “gay liberation” was well under way, queer life in the United States is sometimes thought to have been a veritable prison of shame, repression, illegality, ...
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Before the movement commonly described as “gay liberation” was well under way, queer life in the United States is sometimes thought to have been a veritable prison of shame, repression, illegality, and invisibility. Indeed during the 1950s, on the very eve of the “liberation,” the United States experienced an especially harsh, widespread outbreak of homophobia—with countless arrests, lost jobs, even lost lives, in a fierce cultural orgy of mandatory heterosexuality. Focusing on several American males who lived before the “liberation,” in stories of agency as well as agony, of fulfillment and pleasure as well as thwarted desire and self-loathing, Men without Maps freshly explores the actual quality of life for those “of the generation before Stonewall” who yearned for and sometimes experienced sexual involvements with other men. A few of the men studied are moderately well known today, but most are not. The involvements of some with other men were examples of long-lasting gay domesticity, while the encounters that others had were fleeting. Relying mostly on archival material--such as letters, memoirs, and snapshots--previously unused by a scholar, the book first explores those midcentury males, more numerous than usually realized, who lived as part of a male couple; it then examines experiences of solitary queer men who found coupling to be either unappealing or simply unattainable. Men without Maps joins John Ibson’s acclaimed previous books, Picturing Men and The Mourning After, to form a trilogy of studies, from varying angles, of male relationships in modern American society.Less
Before the movement commonly described as “gay liberation” was well under way, queer life in the United States is sometimes thought to have been a veritable prison of shame, repression, illegality, and invisibility. Indeed during the 1950s, on the very eve of the “liberation,” the United States experienced an especially harsh, widespread outbreak of homophobia—with countless arrests, lost jobs, even lost lives, in a fierce cultural orgy of mandatory heterosexuality. Focusing on several American males who lived before the “liberation,” in stories of agency as well as agony, of fulfillment and pleasure as well as thwarted desire and self-loathing, Men without Maps freshly explores the actual quality of life for those “of the generation before Stonewall” who yearned for and sometimes experienced sexual involvements with other men. A few of the men studied are moderately well known today, but most are not. The involvements of some with other men were examples of long-lasting gay domesticity, while the encounters that others had were fleeting. Relying mostly on archival material--such as letters, memoirs, and snapshots--previously unused by a scholar, the book first explores those midcentury males, more numerous than usually realized, who lived as part of a male couple; it then examines experiences of solitary queer men who found coupling to be either unappealing or simply unattainable. Men without Maps joins John Ibson’s acclaimed previous books, Picturing Men and The Mourning After, to form a trilogy of studies, from varying angles, of male relationships in modern American society.
Amin Ghaziani
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158792
- eISBN:
- 9781400850174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158792.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This book explores why gay neighborhoods are changing in the so-called post-gay era so as to better understand how shifting conceptions of sexuality—especially allegations that its significance is ...
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This book explores why gay neighborhoods are changing in the so-called post-gay era so as to better understand how shifting conceptions of sexuality—especially allegations that its significance is declining in terms of how we define ourselves and how we structure our everyday lives—affect where we choose to live. It examines the conditions under which gayborhoods can retain their resonance for certain people, despite ongoing gay flight and a steady stream of straight newcomers into them. It also considers the possibility that new gay and lesbian settlements are emerging, if we just know how and where to look for them. In the course of the discussion, the book highlights the multiple, seemingly contradictory meanings that gayborhoods have for both gays and straight residents; why those meanings matter; and how they inform the many material stakes that are involved for those who live in and visit these places.Less
This book explores why gay neighborhoods are changing in the so-called post-gay era so as to better understand how shifting conceptions of sexuality—especially allegations that its significance is declining in terms of how we define ourselves and how we structure our everyday lives—affect where we choose to live. It examines the conditions under which gayborhoods can retain their resonance for certain people, despite ongoing gay flight and a steady stream of straight newcomers into them. It also considers the possibility that new gay and lesbian settlements are emerging, if we just know how and where to look for them. In the course of the discussion, the book highlights the multiple, seemingly contradictory meanings that gayborhoods have for both gays and straight residents; why those meanings matter; and how they inform the many material stakes that are involved for those who live in and visit these places.
Amin Ghaziani
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158792
- eISBN:
- 9781400850174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158792.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gender and Sexuality
This chapter examines the perspectives of Chicago residents regarding the so-called “triggers” and how they are remapping the relationship between their sexuality and the city. Sexuality does not ...
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This chapter examines the perspectives of Chicago residents regarding the so-called “triggers” and how they are remapping the relationship between their sexuality and the city. Sexuality does not have a singular spatial expression. This is becoming truer over time, and it is a strong indicator of assimilation. Post-gays insist that they are culturally similar to straights, and they perceive many different neighborhoods in the city as possible places to live. The chapter considers how these two familiar mechanisms work as gays and lesbians pass through certain momentous junctures in their lives. These triggers include growing older, the coming of age of a new generation, and the Internet. Thus, the “idea of all gays living in one space,” if it was ever true, is now moribund in a post-gay era. The chapter also asks why there are mixed feelings about whether gayborhoods will remain meaningful for queer youth later in their lives.Less
This chapter examines the perspectives of Chicago residents regarding the so-called “triggers” and how they are remapping the relationship between their sexuality and the city. Sexuality does not have a singular spatial expression. This is becoming truer over time, and it is a strong indicator of assimilation. Post-gays insist that they are culturally similar to straights, and they perceive many different neighborhoods in the city as possible places to live. The chapter considers how these two familiar mechanisms work as gays and lesbians pass through certain momentous junctures in their lives. These triggers include growing older, the coming of age of a new generation, and the Internet. Thus, the “idea of all gays living in one space,” if it was ever true, is now moribund in a post-gay era. The chapter also asks why there are mixed feelings about whether gayborhoods will remain meaningful for queer youth later in their lives.
Joanna L. Grossman and Lawrence M. Friedman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691149820
- eISBN:
- 9781400839773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691149820.003.0015
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter briefly traces the history of adoption law and takes a look at some of the more tricky issues that surround this institution—cross-racial adoption and the role adoption plays in the ...
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This chapter briefly traces the history of adoption law and takes a look at some of the more tricky issues that surround this institution—cross-racial adoption and the role adoption plays in the formation of gay and lesbian families. It also shows how adoption reflects the major cultural trends in American life. Americans generally, in the age of expressive individualism, try desperately to fashion for themselves unique and satisfying selves; and discover, in a sense, who they really are. For adopted children, this can include a search for their “real” parents and the discovery of their true genetic code. Men and women can decide to have children or not. Adopted children, uniquely, have in a way the right to decide to have parents or not, or more accurately, to decide which parents to cling to.Less
This chapter briefly traces the history of adoption law and takes a look at some of the more tricky issues that surround this institution—cross-racial adoption and the role adoption plays in the formation of gay and lesbian families. It also shows how adoption reflects the major cultural trends in American life. Americans generally, in the age of expressive individualism, try desperately to fashion for themselves unique and satisfying selves; and discover, in a sense, who they really are. For adopted children, this can include a search for their “real” parents and the discovery of their true genetic code. Men and women can decide to have children or not. Adopted children, uniquely, have in a way the right to decide to have parents or not, or more accurately, to decide which parents to cling to.
Amy Adamczyk
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520288751
- eISBN:
- 9780520963597
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520288751.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gay and Lesbian Studies
Across the world, public opinion about homosexuality varies substantially. While residents in some nations have embraced gay rights as human rights, in other countries, very few people find ...
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Across the world, public opinion about homosexuality varies substantially. While residents in some nations have embraced gay rights as human rights, in other countries, very few people find homosexuality acceptable. Why are there such big differences in attitudes about homosexuality? Using survey data from almost ninety societies, this book shows that cross-national differences in how residents view homosexuality can largely be explained by three country characteristics: the strength of democratic institutions, the level of economic development, and the religious context. While these factors can explain a lot of the differences across the world, the way they shape attitudes within individual nations varies substantially. Each country has a different story to tell about how these forces affect public opinion. Country case studies, a content analysis of newspaper articles, and in-depth interviews are used to unpack the characteristics working within individual and key sets of nations. Attention is given not only to demographic and country characteristics that shape public opinion but also to the way these factors work within specific countries and combine with a nation’s unique history and social context to shape attitudes, laws, policies, and enforcement regarding homosexuality.Less
Across the world, public opinion about homosexuality varies substantially. While residents in some nations have embraced gay rights as human rights, in other countries, very few people find homosexuality acceptable. Why are there such big differences in attitudes about homosexuality? Using survey data from almost ninety societies, this book shows that cross-national differences in how residents view homosexuality can largely be explained by three country characteristics: the strength of democratic institutions, the level of economic development, and the religious context. While these factors can explain a lot of the differences across the world, the way they shape attitudes within individual nations varies substantially. Each country has a different story to tell about how these forces affect public opinion. Country case studies, a content analysis of newspaper articles, and in-depth interviews are used to unpack the characteristics working within individual and key sets of nations. Attention is given not only to demographic and country characteristics that shape public opinion but also to the way these factors work within specific countries and combine with a nation’s unique history and social context to shape attitudes, laws, policies, and enforcement regarding homosexuality.
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter considers the main arguments raised by conservatives against same-sex marriage and gay rights more generally. Defenders of same-sex marriage acknowledge the fact that marriage is in many ...
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This chapter considers the main arguments raised by conservatives against same-sex marriage and gay rights more generally. Defenders of same-sex marriage acknowledge the fact that marriage is in many ways a conservative institution. Libertarians, liberationists, and some liberals doubt that marriage is fair given the diversity of people's conceptions of meaning and value in life. Many adopt an unnecessarily critical posture toward civil marriage. This chapter offers a sympathetic account of marriage that recognizes the importance for many people of marital commitment while also honoring, and indeed helping to secure, the equal liberty and fairness prized by liberals. It shows that the debate over gay rights has been shaped by the repeated articulation of a demand for public reasons and evidence to justify the shape of the law touching on gay rights and marriage. The demand for reasons was laid down by the dissenters in Bowers v. Hardwick (1987).Less
This chapter considers the main arguments raised by conservatives against same-sex marriage and gay rights more generally. Defenders of same-sex marriage acknowledge the fact that marriage is in many ways a conservative institution. Libertarians, liberationists, and some liberals doubt that marriage is fair given the diversity of people's conceptions of meaning and value in life. Many adopt an unnecessarily critical posture toward civil marriage. This chapter offers a sympathetic account of marriage that recognizes the importance for many people of marital commitment while also honoring, and indeed helping to secure, the equal liberty and fairness prized by liberals. It shows that the debate over gay rights has been shaped by the repeated articulation of a demand for public reasons and evidence to justify the shape of the law touching on gay rights and marriage. The demand for reasons was laid down by the dissenters in Bowers v. Hardwick (1987).
Stephen Macedo
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691166483
- eISBN:
- 9781400865857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691166483.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter examines conservative arguments from the gendered nature of marriage as a relation of husband and wife, and others based on children's interests. It first considers the conservatives' ...
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This chapter examines conservative arguments from the gendered nature of marriage as a relation of husband and wife, and others based on children's interests. It first considers the conservatives' idea of marriage as an essentially gendered relationship of husband and wife before discussing the debate in the U.S. Senate in 2004 over a Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to the Constitution. In particular, it explores two main claims advanced by Republican supporters of the FMA on the Senate floor: first, that traditional heterosexual marriage tends to promote children's wellbeing (which is true), and, second, that same-sex matrimony would damage or destroy heterosexual marriage. The chapter proceeds by reviewing the evidence regarding the impact of same-sex marriage on children's welfare and concludes by asking whether greater acceptance of marriages between gay males could contribute to the weakening of marriage.Less
This chapter examines conservative arguments from the gendered nature of marriage as a relation of husband and wife, and others based on children's interests. It first considers the conservatives' idea of marriage as an essentially gendered relationship of husband and wife before discussing the debate in the U.S. Senate in 2004 over a Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to the Constitution. In particular, it explores two main claims advanced by Republican supporters of the FMA on the Senate floor: first, that traditional heterosexual marriage tends to promote children's wellbeing (which is true), and, second, that same-sex matrimony would damage or destroy heterosexual marriage. The chapter proceeds by reviewing the evidence regarding the impact of same-sex marriage on children's welfare and concludes by asking whether greater acceptance of marriages between gay males could contribute to the weakening of marriage.
