Same-Sex Marriage (aka Gay Marriage)

Sexual Orientation A person’s patterns of emotional, romantic, and sexual attraction toward others and his/her sense of personal and social identity based on these attractions

Same-Sex Marriage Legally recognized union between partners of the same sex/gender Legalized in Canada in 2005 Marriage provides a host of legal benefits ◦ tax benefits, inheritance, community property, and social rights

2009 Statistics in Canada 1.1% of Canadians aged consider themselves homosexuals 0.9% of Canadians aged identify as bisexuals

Relevancy Gay marriage, discrimination toward LGBT and homophobia are relevant human right issues ◦ It affects individuals health and well-being ◦ Hate crimes - violence Everyone should be respected and treated equally ◦ LGBT individuals are present in society Happiness is all that matters

Gender is not Black and White Laws that define marriage as a union between a man and a woman make it confusing to know if intersex individuals, for instance, can get married.

Challenges & Changes in Society Alters the marriage culture Decay of the morals of modern society ◦ “Freedom of expression has been replacing human values” Same-sex couples will be adopting and raising more children Marriage/unions become less about reproduction and more about sexual expression

Financial benefit for governments’ economies ◦ Profit from tax revenues from new marriages, new jobs and gay tourism Discrimination and hate ◦ Harder maintaining positive self-image ◦ Fear and mental health problems ◦ 25-50% of homeless youth are LGBT Cause a decline in men/woman marriage Challenges & Changes in Society

Anthropology Worldwide issue: individuals from all races backgrounds, cultures, countries etc face hardship and attempt to fight for their rights and for equality Homosexuality is punishable by death in some countries In more than 70 countries people face imprisonment ◦ Russia banned “gay propaganda”

Anthropology Part of society since beginning of recorded history Shown in television and openly discussed ◦ Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right (2010) ◦ Billy Wilder’s Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association “The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies. The Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association strongly opposes a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.”

Sociology Taboo: Being LGBT or partaking in same-sex marriage is seen as abnormal or strange Realization of Relation: other individuals have a similar struggle ◦ Trevor Project, Some People Are Gay. Get Over It Isolation Opposes bring forth the possibly impact on children raised by same-sex parents

Structural-Functionalism Society is trying to implement same-sex marriage so individuals’ needs are met and they are treated equally

Psychology Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Psychology Erik Erikson`s Eight Stage Psychological Development

Psychology Sigmund Freud Psychosexual development ◦ psychosexual element or libido is the driving force behind behaviour humans are by nature bisexual

Psychology Alfred Adler – Individual Psychology and the concept inferiority complex Individuals feel inferior and must overcome this Strive for success and equality (superiority) Wish to become `somebody` in a society that judges them for being different

Questions “At the end of the day, the questions we ask of ourselves determine the type of people that we will become.” – Leo Babauta “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.” - Voltaire

Question #1 “Some opponents of same-sex marriage assert that [the legalization of same-sex marriage] will cause a full scale retreat from marriage by men and women.” Marriage rates are already slowly declining. Do you think this number will drop further and more drastically as same-sex marriage becomes legal in more places?

Question #2 Individuals who oppose same-sex marriage often question the possible impact that being raised by same- sex parents can have on children. ◦ Are these children more likely to identify as LGBT? ◦ Will children be targeted by others at school for having a different style family? ◦ Will they question why their families are different (i.e. Why do they have two mothers or two fathers)? Do you think a same-sex couple is capable of properly raising a child or will this child experience too much prejudice?

Question #3 Do you think individuals from this generation are more accepting of LGBT individuals and same-sex marriage? How has the portrayal of same-sex couples in the media influenced this?

Question #4 Individuals who oppose same-sex marriage often due so because of religion. They believe that “marriage” is simultaneously a religious and secular affair. Do you think that if society began to identify secular and religious marriage as two different events, the conflict of legalizing same-sex marriage would decline?