Short Response 10/13

In the articles "Since When is Marriage a Path to Liberation?" and "Queer Parenting," authors Ettelbrick and Naples argue that the legalization of same-sex marriage will not be enough to liberate gay and lesbian couples, since heteronormativity pervades our social and political institutions, keeping queer couples in the category of "other." While I understand the legalization of marriage for all same-sex couples will not fully liberate homosexuals, I think the authors ignore the fact that full liberation of minorities and marginalized people in our society cannot happen overnight and small gains pave the way for progress towards equality. When we examine historical cases, we see that small legal victories for marginalized groups opens doors to acceptance and toleration. For example, the Civil Rights Act protected blacks under law and while discrimination still exists in our society, more and more acceptance has resulted from this small victory. Furthermore, women's suffrage opened doors for marginalized females to gain voting rights under law and as a result women have gained more equal footing with their male counterparts. Women by no means are equal to men; however, they have certainly made significant strides in the past several decades to stake their claim as equal citizens. Homosexuals, another marginalized group in our society, must also make strides by securing small victories. Since our society is not fully accepting yet, we must be patient and celebrate each victory we can secure. And while Ettelbrick does not want same-sex couples to be streamlined with heterosexual couples since she believes it will ignore the complexities and uniqueness of the variety of relationships that exist in our country, I believe that garunteeing same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples will enable these couples to lose their classification as "other" and instead change the conception of "normal" in our society.

http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-04-cynthia_nixon_gives_counter_argument_to_gay_marriage_opponent