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Showing posts with label Same sex marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Same sex marriage. Show all posts
By: Shayna Butler In April I will be marring the love of my life. At first my parents didn’t fully approve, because I am White and he is Korean. Growing up in a strict Adventist subculture my parents would always tell me, “Never marry outside your race or your religion.” They always told me that different races and religions wouldn’t work because relationships already has their struggles, why add different ideas into them? However, they grew up in a time where interracial and same sex marriages were frowned on.
America has always prided themselves on freedom. Yet, marrying different races, religions, and even having a same sex partner has slowly become a social norm. There are 6.8 million of people from different cultures that have embarked in an exogamy (marrying outside your social group) marriage and 150,000 people that have a same sex marriage. And still, same sex marriages aren't fully recognized in the some states.
My fiancé and I have been together for five years, and granted to relationship is perfect, but having a different cultural background has never created a problem. It's been fun learning about the culture and what are the norms in Korea. And frankly, I cannot wait to raise my children in a Korean/American home. Yes, I will have to learn the language so my children can and I’m sure they’ll have kimchi and hamburgers for dinner. But most importantly, I hope they will never feel that race, religion, or sex should determine what they look for in a soulmate.
According to Wikipedia, a rainbow flag is a multi-colored flag consisting of stripes in the colors of the rainbow. The use of rainbow flags have a long tradition; they are displayed in many cultures around the world as a sign of diversity and inclusiveness, of hope and of yearning. The world's best known version of the rainbow flag is the 'pride' or 'freedom' flag, which was popularized as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is used predominantly at gay pride events worldwide in various forms including banners, clothing, and jewelry. Although the flag is meant to represent diversity and equality, I believe it also represents struggle and inequality because for decades, homosexual men and women have remained second class citizens as they have little to no rights to solidify their relationships in marriage, which is supposed to be a cornerstone of American society (not heterosexual society, but American society. Let's not get the two mixed up).
Merriam-Webster defines marriage as (1) The state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. (2) The state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage. Notice that the definition says nothing about what marriage is for, just about who can marry. So long as two people are adults, not close blood relatives, consenting and not already married, almost any man and woman can marry. If they are incapable of having children, just met the night before in Las Vegas, or have had a handful of failed marriages between them, they can wed. "Convicted felons on their way to the chair can marry", quips Jonathan Rauch, author of a new book "Gay Marriage: Why Is It Good For Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America".
What is this country coming to when your sexual orientation puts limitations on what your life can mean or how much you can show your spouse you love them? The definition should be as follows: Marriage - The state of being united to another non-related person in an intimate, consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. I guess instiutionalized discrimination doesn't just affect African Americans. Leaving me to ponder this question. Is gay the new black? Is the fight for same-sex marriage the new civil rights movement??
The fight for gay rights fits into a long history of liberal struggles. According to Thomas Schaller of the Baltimore Sun," the movement for sexual-orientation based equality is part of a proud, progressive tradition that includes abolition, women's suffrage, racial integration of the armed forces, the civil rights movement, and anti-mescegenation laws." Anti-gay activists are quickly losing the debate due to many straight Americans who are coming to the defense of homosexuals, much in the same way that whites pushed for abolition and men marched for women's rights. The Youtube video I chose as my media for this blog shows a gay married couple celebrating the ground that homosexuals have made for gay rights, specifically, the recent winning of marriage equality in New York. Finally, we are realizing that we have gay co-workers and classmates, and are related to gays and lesbians. I have a gay cousin and a lesbian cousin. They are both younger than me and I want them to be privy to the advantages I have as a heterosexual person. So, wave that rainbow flag from every gay bar all the way to the White House. It's time to make these tight wads taste the freaking rainbow!
