The Same-sex Marriage - Essay Example

Running Head: LOVE, INTIMACY AND FRIENDSHIP The current campaign for same-sex marriage is essentially conservative, since it proves that middle class tastes and preferences set the terms for intimacy in society. Discuss. Name Institution Date Question 2 The current campaign for same-sex marriage is essentially conservative, since it proves that middle class tastes and preferences set the terms for intimacy in society. Discuss. Introduction Same sex marriage also popularly known as gay is socially or legally acknowledged union between two adults of the same social or biological gender. Many controversies surround the whole issue of gay marriage. In recent news it has been reported that approximately three quarters of Australian population support a conscience vote on the controversial issue relating to gay marriages. It did not come as a surprise that many people would like lesbians and gay couples to marry. The poll carried out by Galaxy poll showed an escalation in the percentage margin of respondents supporting same-sex marriage. The above average support rose by two per cent from the previous sixty per cent to sixty two per cent. Both the labour party and the liberal party had a substantial representation in the supporters of same sex marriage. Moreover it was noted that the young generation Australians were more likely to advocate same sex marriage than the older Australians that is those aging from fifty years and above. Eighty per cent of the young generation supported the idea of same sex marriage (Andryszewski, 2008). The notion that the current campaign for same sex marriage being thought or equalled to being conservative does not necessarily point to the true picture on the facts on the ground. As it was supplied in a court of law in the state of California in the United States of America, being gay is neither a disease or a disorder, but more so a variation in human beings sexual orientations. Sullivan (1997) says that it was farther stated that a majority of homosexuals, that is, lesbians and gays are known as leading healthy, happy, productive, and well adjusted lives. There is also undoubted commitment by the lesbians and gays to their relationship. Their union was compared to the union that resulted in heterosexual marriages. One fundamental question that we should ask ourselves before to settling for such statements should be: what causes same sex desires or where does the urge for same sex marriage stem from? According to Abrahamsen (1997), contenting or embracing same sex marriage is it being a liberal or a conservative? People who support same sex unions are they conservatisms or liberals? If it were that same sex marriage is essentially conservative then it would be the same as saying this issue of same sex marriage has been with us from time immemorial which will be a blatant lie. It is on record that countries like Denmark have been among the first ones to recognize same sex marriages. If it is so then it will be totally misleading to content with the sentiment that gay relationships or marriages have been with as from time immemorial. In the modern world those who are opposed to the whole issue of same sex marriages are seen to be holding onto being conservative and not able to embrace change. Rimmerman & Wilcox (2007) argue that the social groups that advocates for same sex recognition have labelled them as being homophobic with no apparent reason. Many Christians who hold on to the teachings of the bible staunchly will frown upon the issue of same sex marriage with the strong stand: that it is not Godly. They go on to stipulate that it was not the original plan of God for two people of the same sex to enter into a union that they comfortably refer to as marriage. According to Boswell (1994), the Bible is thought to have been written a thousand of years ago and therefore the opposition to gay unions and marriages is historically been in existence as long as it can be remembered. How then can we label those campaigning for same sex marriage as being conservative? A conservative person or individual is one who holds on to old traditions, values and views and he is ready to oppose change. In this case therefore if it were being conservative is campaigning for same sex marriages it will be the same as saying that has been the status quo for two people of the same sex to marry. Abrahamsen (1997) argues that conservative is holding tenaciously on what has been the norm, what has been in practice all along. For instance, in the United States of America it is found that same sex marriage history is very short. On the other hand the existence of civil unions can be traced back to six hundred years ago to the medieval Europe. There is a huge difference between a marriage and a civil union. Same sex Marriage surfaced in the United as a nation way back in 1993 in a Hawaii court case LEWIN v BAEHR, the ruling judges gave the verdict that the state had to give a substantial concrete argument explaining sufficiently why same sex couples should not be accorded the same rights legally as those given to heterosexual couples. It is this event that gave impetus for the commencement, passage, and creation of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. This is the act of its own kind to directly mention law and same sex marriage. The Act proposed that for the sole purpose of the federal law a marriage union was only possible for one woman and one man. This Act halted the fight for same sex marriage just for a while. The brewing issue comes fighting again a few years down the line (Boswell, 1994). In the year 1999 a ruling in Vermont Supreme Court stipulated that the state had to give the marriage of same sex couples equal legal benefits as same sex marriages. One year later the legislature in Vermont brought into being civil unions in a legal attempt to accord gay couples equal rights as those given to heterosexual couples. In the year 2003 a ruling in a supreme court of Massachusetts gave the verdict that gay and lesbian couples had equal rights as heterosexual. The following year reversed this rule and said that it would not fulfil this prior decision. It was not until in 2004 on May 17 that the state of Massachusetts became the first state to legally approve same sex marriage. The state of Connecticut followed suit by approving gay marriages in 2008. On a different note, in 2008 this decision was reversed following the passing of Proposition 8: the issue is still being discussed in the courts of law. Only ten states have given gay couples legal equal rights either through same sex marriage or civil union. According to Andryszewski (2008), as many as twenty-seven states have legislated laws to outlaw homosexual marriages. It can be said that the issue of same sex marriage in a country like the United States of America is not conservative but is a new way of life that people are reluctant to embrace. Whether the issue of same sex marriage existed years before civilization then it was not deliberate. Gays are now fighting to have them given equal rights as heterosexual partners meaning these rights had not been in existence and the society has frowned upon the whole saga of same sex marriage. In another turning point it has been found that gays and lesbians historically were people who were bisexual functionally. Some well known names listed as being homosexuals were interestingly sexually active with both women and men. In Portugal president Cavaco Silva was referred to as a conservative for not signing into law a gay marriage bill. The Swedish government allowed same sex couples legal union rights in the mid 1990s and consequently allowed them to adopt children in 2002. The legislation which came into force in the month of May allowed gays to wed in religious or civil ceremony but individual churches were allowed to opt out. It could be incredible but the fact on the file shows that a majority of the American adult population in a pastry five states were not opposed to recognition of same sex marriage and according the couples equal rights as late as 2009.In matters relating to social change momentum means a lot. It comes with no surprise that only young adults strongly favoured same sex marriage while the elderly citizens posed the strongest opposition and hence they seemed to be conservative. If at all same sex marriage follows same trend as interracial marriage then the total number of states instituting laws to allow same sex marriage will gradually increase. Marriages between blacks and whites in the United States were initially frowned upon until when it was accepted by and by. Same sex marriage has been very controversial. The controversies surrounding can be depicted in the sentiment that to social conservatives and many religious groups to prevent same sex couple from marrying is essentially important than outlawing abortion in women. In Denmark which is considered to be the first country to grant gay legal rights it is only ‘partnerships’ rights that were granted in 1989.This is not equal to same sex marriage. It follows without saying that being for sex marriage is not being a conservative but a liberal. A liberal is more willing and ready to embrace new way of living or fashion than a conservative. Same sex marriage is not an issue of class and consequently. There is need to attribute it to the middle class. The middle class cannot set the terms of intimacy in the society. Homosexual couples have been found to crop up from across all the classes from the lower class to the upper class. If the earlier gays were bisexuals then the trend is not so today and some people choose to be gay and enter into a same sex marriage because they have chosen that path in their life and not as a result of the physical composition of their body. The matter concerning love, intimacy, and relationships is personal and cannot be blindly attributed to a particular social group. There are people in the middle class that are nauseated by the whole issue of same sex marriages. To them it is an abomination, a breach of the natural law that guides human behaviour. If it is that many people who are homosexuals or advocate for same sex marriages belong to the middle class then this is only a trend may in one country and not all (Boswell, 1981). For example Canada on 20th in the month of July it became the fourth country worldwide and the first among American nations to make legal same sex marriage in the whole country when it enacted the Civil Marriage Act. Do we now say the social middle class pushed for the enactment of this legislation? It must have been the clamour for these legislations came from in a lot more circle than the middle class only. Is it appropriate to say that the middle class tastes and preferences dictate the intimacy path taken by the society? It would absolutely wrong. Personal orientation embedded in one’s mind as he grows up eventually decides the fate of his future. They are people who have chosen to be gay because they have experienced physical and psychological abuse in heterosexual relationships. They think that one of their kind will treat them fairly well which is a misconception. It is a purely personal decision that leads one to be gay or a lesbian. The gay right activists will not give credit to the middle class for having engineered their emancipation but to individual crusaders (Rimmerman & Wilcox 2007). Conclusion It is worth noting that same sex marriage is matter of personal conscience that may develop consciously or subconsciously but actively nurtured. A social class can provide an ample environment for homosexuals to show their face in the manner that it responds to them being around. A social group cannot be credited with fostering or advocating for the same sex marriage. In one own volition he decides what kind of life he will lead. It can be compared to choosing religion where such liberty is granted or also choosing the number of children to have where such rights are allowed. In most Muslim countries same sex marriage is not allowed and in China one is only allowed to have one kid because of overpopulation. Where state religion is allowed then every citizen is expected not to go against this law. Some people consider same sex marriage as being stylish and modern fashioned. In the light of this it will be inappropriate to label as conservatives people advocating for same sex marriages. It is a new way of life that other people are still grappling with either to accept it or reject it completely. Jonathan Rauch who is a gay has stipulated that that marriage is ideal to everyone, whether heterosexual or homosexual because when men engage in its social roles it reduces their promiscuity and aggression. References Andryszewski, T. (2008). Same-Sex Marriage: Moral Wrong or Civil Right? Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Upper Grades. New Jersey: Twenty-First Century Books. Abrahamsen, V. (21997). "Burials in Greek Macedonia: Possible evidence for same-sex committed relationships in early Christianity," Journal of Higher Criticism, 4/2 (1997- FALL). Boswell, J. (1981). Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the Fourteenth Century", Chapter 4, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Boswell, J. (1994) Same-Sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe, Villard, New York, NY. Sullivan, A. (1997). Same-sex marriage: pro & con. New York: Vintage Books, Rimmerman, C. A. Wilcox C. (2007). The politics of same-sex marriage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Read More