Notes from Queer Avengers discussion group: marriage and the family
Discussion of whether to reform marriage and/or abolish it.
Argument for abolition:
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marriage privileges certain relationships
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sanction used to maintain capitalist norms and property relations
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Restricts relationships: marriage for immigration must be monogamous
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Extension of marriage rights used to regulate relationships: women’s access to DPB cut off due to “relationships in the nature of marriage”
Arguments for reform:
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many people seek marriage for a wide range of understandable reasons. Some present in the discussion have married or are intending to marry.
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People who do want to marry a member of the same-sex feel excluded by anti-marriage rhetoric about “heteronormativity” and “assimilation.”