1 / 19

LGBT & Q Families

LGBT & Q Families. Introduction to Family Studies. Alternative Family Forms LBGT & Q. Sexual identity is a new concept Medical model remained dominant until 1973 when homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association

garry
Download Presentation

LGBT & Q Families

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. LGBT & Q Families Introduction to Family Studies

  2. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q • Sexual identity is a new concept • Medical model remained dominant until 1973 when homosexuality was listed as a mental disorder by the American Psychiatric Association • Not surprisingly such a definition fueled discrimination and prejudice

  3. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families The new discourse on gay families emerges from the same cultural trends that have led to the weakening of marriage as a social institution the growth of individualism the separation of sex from marriage

  4. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • Sexuality has become more private • This has partially due to the passage of two supreme court rulings 1) Griswold vs. the State of Connecticut – 1965 • Ruling states that a state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives violated marital privacy by allowing police to search the “sacred precincts of marital bedrooms.”

  5. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families 2) Eisenstadt vs. Baird - 1972 • Laws prohibiting the sale of contraceptives to unmarried persons is overturned • "it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwarranted governmental intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision to whether to bear or beget a child."

  6. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • So increased right to privacy for married couples and then non-married couples leads to greater acceptance of same-sex relationships • Increased right to privacy

  7. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • First some definitions • The use of Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Gay & Queer (LGBT & Q) is meant as a way of referring to and being inclusive of many alternative sexual identities • The Q for Queer comes out of Queer Theory • Queer theory is a viewpoint that purposely chose the term “QUEER,” because until recently it was derogatory and negative • Queer theorists are attempting to challenge conventional understanding of sexuality and give homosexuality a positive spin

  8. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • Lindsay Van Gelder describes marriage as a “restricted club” • Over time and across cultures there have always been restrictions on who could marry • It was only after the civil war that African-Americans were allowed to marry in all areas of the U.S • It was only after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1967 that mixed race couples could marry anywhere in the U.S.

  9. Why do lesbian or gay partners want to get married?

  10. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • Why do lesbian or gay partners want to get married? • Because there are real dollar and cents benefits to being married • Although we think about people getting married because they love each other, married couples also accrue legal and practical advantages as well.

  11. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/your-money/03money.html?_r=2&hp

  12. Practical and financial advantages available to married couples that are not available to domestic partners • Spouses can be designated as beneficiaries for insurance or pension plans • Spouses can purchase health insurance for each other through their employers • They can receive social security survivors benefits • They can give legal permission for their children to schools, doctors etc.

  13. Practical and financial advantages available to married couples that are not available to domestic partners • They can adopt children together • They can be the next of kin for hospital visitation or in the event of death • If spouses divorce, they are both legally entitled to half the worth of the family • They can gain citizenship for their spouse through marriage • If a spouse dies, the surviving spouse is legally entitled to the inheritance (if not otherwise spec’d)

  14. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • Several U.S states have legalized same-sex marriage • They can then gain some benefits • But in most states same-sex couples do not have all of the advantages that opposite-gender couples automatically acquire when they marry. • Gay marriage is legal in these states: Washington, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine & Washington D.C • Same-sex marriage has the backing of prominent Pacific Northwest business including: Microsoft Corp, Nike Inc. and Starbucks

  15. Gay Marriage and civil unions by State • http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-gmtimeline-fl,0,5345296.htmlstory • Roll your mouse over each state and you get a short history of legal issues on gay marriage

  16. Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) • In 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is enacted • Under the law -- same-sex couples whose marriage was legal in their home state were not eligible for thousands of dollars of federal benefits • Opposite-sex married couples receive tax breaks, social security etc. • Forced divorce? • http://vimeo.com/3089746 • Gay marriage was OVERTURNED so all people who were married were then unmarried under California law • Then on February 7, 2012 a higher court rules that it is UNCONSTITUTIONAL to ban same-sex marriage • Same-sex marriage now legal in CA

  17. Gay Marriage in California? Yes or No? • The Defense of Marriage Act, DOMA • The law barring the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states, is rules unconstitutional by the Supreme Court 5-4 vote. • states, thus gay marriage now legal in CA again • If you want to read more about this decision: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/26/supreme-court-doma-decision_n_3454811.html

  18. Alternative Family FormsLBGT & Q Families • Meanwhile in New Jersey… • The New Jersey Assembly voted to approve same-sex marriage in NJ on Thursday, February 23, 2012 • NJ Governor Chris Christie has vowed to veto the bill – saying he believes it should be voted on as a referendum on the November ballot • On September 26 2013 a New Jersey judge says NJ must allow same-sex marriage • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/new-jersey-gay-marriage-_n_4004723.html

  19. Summary • Summary • Sexual identity is a new concept • As sexuality became more private and as sex is separated from marriage – gay/lesbian families have emerged and gained more rights • Data on gay families is hard to find and interpret • Gay families are seeking the same dollar and cents benefits that accrue to married couple families and increasingly cohabiting partners • Gay marriage is becoming legal on a state-by-state basis – many states legalized it in past two years

More Related