On “Marriage Dissidents”: From Marriage to “Radical Parenting”

Abstract

While “marriage equality” represents progress, “marriage” as a legal concept insufficiently recognizes its roots as a problematic institution. By examining the essentialism of “traditional marriage,” we can begin to understand many of the existing contemporary problems of marriage, which same-sex marriage may have imported. Marriage has historically contributed to a profound sense of sexism that, in general, oppresses women and promotes a white, middle-class heteronormativity that can be problematic for many, including same-sex couples who, having vindicated their civil rights, might be perpetuating a dysfunctional social institution.