Understanding Same-Sex Marriage Debates: A Queer Analysis in Australia

This essay undertakes a queer analysis of the debates surrounding same-sex marriage in Australia. It begins by defining 'queer' and exploring the concepts of heteronormativity and homonormativity. The analysis examines the historical context of the debate, including the legal changes and the arguments presented by both sides. It delves into the biological and social aspects of homosexuality, emphasizing the importance of understanding these factors to overcome discrimination. The essay also discusses the impact of same-sex marriage on various aspects, including the economic benefits for the wedding industry, the legal rights and protections afforded to same-sex couples, and the potential impacts on children. Furthermore, it considers both the positive and negative aspects of same-sex marriage, highlighting the need for educational and social programs to combat discrimination and promote equality. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of queer analysis in gaining a deeper understanding of same-sex marriage and advocating for free choice and equal treatment.

GENDER STUDIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................3
What could a queer analysis bring to an understanding of the debates about same-sex marriage
in Australia?............................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Queer refers to those communities that are physically different from other general public
and those mindsets and preferences also differ in great extent. Legalisation of Homosexuality has
been debated since its very inception and there are people who are for and as well as against
same-sex marriage (Cornwall and Lindisfarne, 2016). The following report is on understanding
this debate in Australia by undertaking queer analysis. It covers the biological and social factors
regarding queer as well as positive and negative factors of same-sex marriage that helps in
gaining a wider understanding of this community as well as homosexual marriages.
TASK 1
What could a queer analysis bring to an understanding of the debates about same-sex marriage in
Australia?
Queer, traditionally used as a a term to denote homosexuality, now refers to both people
attracted to individuals of same sex and people whose bodies and sexualities do not conform
with dominant norms of society. Eve Kofosky Sedgwick in her book Tendencies has defined the
term queer as the open mesh of gaps, possibilities, overlaps, resonances and dissonances as well
as lapses of meaning when elements of an individual's gender aren't made to signify rigidity.
The debate of same sex-marriage in Australia is quite old. This debate has been
prominent for the political agenda. Even after this debate has been subjected to varied opinions
from the community and politics, still it is controversial and complex in the country.
Queer analysis could clearly be understood by Queer Theory, which introduces the idea
of “heteronormativity”. According to Lauren Berlant and Michael Warner, it is defined as a
term that undertakes promotion of heterosexuality as a normal sexual orientation. In their studies,
they have considered this aspect as privileged. These studies also gives insight to
“homonormativity”, which, according to Lisa Duggan, is a politics that upholds as well as
sustains dominant heteronormative assumptions and counts in the possibility of establishment of
homosexual culture as well. Most of the entities are still following the heteronormative
assumption. As far as the debate of same sex marriage is considered, Howard Government in

2004 limited the marriage between a woman and a man. However, in 2017, Australian
Government passed the bill for same sex marriage. The arguments that were presented were
quite concrete on both sides of the debate. While the minority referred to Catholic religion where
marriage is restricted to a man and a woman, the majority debated about the equality given to
individuals regarding their marriage (Vivar, 2016).
However, queer analysis could be a relevant source of understanding the same sex
debate. According to the analysis, there are biological and social aspects regarding
homosexuality. As far as the biology is concerned, the analysis focused on the the atypical
combination of X and Y chromosomes which is quite natural for them to be different and have
contrast sexual characteristics.
As per social concept, it helps in understanding the behaviour of individuals. An
individuals' self identity is not born with them but rather constructed through repeated practices.
As far as homosexuality is concerned, their likings and sexual preferences are dependant upon
their identity which is developed through repetitive behavioural and physical practices preferred
by those individuals.
For the debate in Australia, it is quite important, that both these aspects be understood by
the individuals who are against same-sex marriage. There must be an understanding of the
biological characteristics of these individuals to gain a better understanding of their behaviour.
Such understanding would allow them to look past the cultural and societal norms and would
allow them to accept these marriages and consider them as a natural activity. Moreover,
discrimination must be ended for homosexual people and proper sex education must be given to
youth to promote equality and better insight on the concept of homosexuality (Wodak and
Benke, 2017).
As per the Gay Liberation Front: Manifesto London, 1971, revised 1978, homosexual
people are tend to be oppressed by almost every part of the society, mainly Family, School,
Media, Law and so forth. These people face various challenges that have negative impacts on
them, both psychologically as well as physically. According to the manifesto, there are various
aspects of gay society that are oppressive. The manifesto has identified them as the Youth Cult,
Compulsive Monogamy and Butch and Femme role-playing. All these aspects have various
negative impacts on the people as well as the society. Where Australia is concerned, the country
has legalised gay marriages in order to overcome these situations The debate even after its

legalisation is still ongoing in the country. Queer analysis also helped individuals and
communities in giving a wider look at the domains which would be affected after same-sex
marriage.
A report by Family Research Council has focused on few elements which makes this
debate far from being over. The most important factor that has been focused upon the council
were children. Homosexual couples use methods like surrogacy and In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) to
conceive children. These methods however make these children away from their biological
parents which has a bad impact on children. This is because they are bound to be away from their
parents and are often not even introduced which worsen the situation (Buikema, Plate and Thiele,
2017).
Secondly, each parent has a crucial role to play in lives of children. Homosexuality
eradicates this fulfilment of this desire in children which causes psychological disturbance in
their minds. In addition to this, there have been quite few instances that has been reported which
suggests that children that are raised by homosexual couples might experience sexual and gender
disorders. This evidence became even stronger when it was analysed how young children raised
by homosexual couples end up being in homoerotic relationships.
Thirdly, the major concern of same sex marriage is upon the sexual fidelity between
couples. Quiet recently, a research of civil unions provided evidence on the facts that almost 79
percent of people valued sexual fidelity against only 50 percent homosexual couples. There is
much need of extramarital outlets in homosexual couples than in heterosexual. This factor again
votes against the same-sex marriage (Ten Arguments From Social Science Against Same-Sex
Marriage, 2019).
There are various benefits associated with gay marriages as well. The first benefit is the
legal rights protection of partners. The legalisation of same-sex marriage provides ample benefits
to couples where finances, taxes and healthcare services are concerned. They enjoy all the
monetary as well as legal benefits as a heterosexual couple which provides them psychological
satisfaction as they become legally accepted.
Legalisation of same-sex marriages also has an impact on the stigma and discrimination
faced by homosexual individuals as along with the society, these marriages get acceptance by the
state too, making them as important for individuals as any other kind of marriage.

Queer analysis also has a clear intake on how positively same sex marriage impacts
children. Legalising these marriages would help homosexual couples train their mentally
untainted children in a way that they grow up to be beneficial to their parents as well as the
society. It would help the secure next generation effectively.
For Australia, these marriage could benefit the economy too. The wedding industry could
experience lots of economic benefits by same sex marriages. Since this marriage has been
legalised in Australia, the government has witnessed quite of lot weddings in just one year since
its legalisation. More than 5900 marriages were registered across the country up-till November,
2017 (Thousands of couples have tied the knot since Australia legalised same-sex marriage,
2019). These marriages have had a wide impact on the economy of Australia.
(Source: Thousands of couples have tied the knot since Australia legalised same-sex marriage,
2019)
The benefits associated with same-sex marriage are quite crucial for the society as well as
the economy as a whole. The benefits, however, are not just associated with the weddings only.
Illustration 1: Thousands of couples have tied the knot since Australia legalised same-sex
marriage

As per Emmanuel David in his article Capital T: Trans Visibility, Corporate Capitalism, and
Commodity Culture, there are various regimes that induces transgender visibility and value. The
article gives emphasis to the transgender cultural commodification by witnessing rise in
transgender-specific commodities and consumer markets. It also gives emphasis on how there is
an emergence of trans-specific labour and all-trans worker groups. The agenda of this article is to
determine the link between capital flow in neo-liberal markets and transgender issues. Even if
there are many negative aspects as well as limitations associated with these marriages, efforts
must be taken to effectively handle the situations and ensure better development of homosexual
couples as well as their children. Various educational and social programmes must be held in a
way that it informs and encourage people into completely eradicate the discrimination towards
these communities (Hancock, 2016).
With educational enhancements and emphasis on equality, legalisation of same sex
marriage in Australia would be quite effective in the long run as there would be a new way and a
complete different ideology of how queer as well as homosexual people are viewed in the
country (Blumenfeld, 2017). In addition to this, same sex marriage also would be considered in a
positive and a healthy lifestyle which would contribute in psychological and personal
development of individuals of this community by making them exercise their equal rights
effectively (Martinsson and Griffin, 2016).
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded that queer analysis is quite imperative to gain a deeper
understanding of same sex marriages. The biological as well as social factors regarding queer
community could really help other individuals in understanding the behaviour and preferences of
homosexual community. It also helps in gaining an insight on the positive and negative impact of
same-sex marriage on the communities and countries as a whole. However, individuals and
governments might consider positive impacts of homosexual marriage and must give individuals
right of free choice and inform and educate others to mitigate the risk of discrimination and
encouragement of equal treatment.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Blumenfeld, W.J., 2017. Butler matters: Judith Butler's impact on feminist and queer studies.
Routledge.
Buikema, R., Plate, L. and Thiele, K. eds., 2017. Doing Gender in Media, Art and Culture: A
Comprehensive Guide to Gender Studies. Routledge.
Cornwall, A. and Lindisfarne, N. eds., 2016. Dislocating masculinity: Comparative
ethnographies. Taylor & Francis.
Hancock, A.M., 2016. Intersectionality: An intellectual history. Oxford University Press.
Martinsson, L. and Griffin, G. eds., 2016. Challenging the myth of gender equality in Sweden.
Policy Press.
Vivar, M.T.H., 2016. Framing intersectionality: Debates on a multi-faceted concept in gender
studies. Routledge.
Wodak, R. and Benke, G., 2017. Gender as a sociolinguistic variable: New perspectives on
variation studies. The handbook of sociolinguistics. pp.127-150.
Online
David, E., 2017. Capital T: Trans Visibility, Corporate Capitalism, and Commodity Culture.
[Online] Available through
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Visibility-Corporate-Capitalism-and/>.
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<https://dismantlinghomonormativity.weebly.com/what-is-homonormativity.html/>.
Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick TENDENCIES. 1993. [Online] Available through
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now.pdf/>.
Gay Liberation Front: Manifesto London, 1971, revised 1978. 2019. [Online] Available
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LAUREN BERLANT AND MICHAEL WARNER QUOTES. 2019. [Online] Available through
<https://www.shmoop.com/queer-theory/lauren-berlant-michael-warner-quotes.html/>.
Ten Arguments From Social Science Against Same-Sex Marriage. 2019. [Online] Available
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same-sex-marriage/>.
Thousands of couples have tied the knot since Australia legalised same-sex marriage. 2019.
[Online] Available through <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-09/thousands-of-
same-sex-couples-tie-the-knot-in-australia/10598058/>.