The meaning of love in the debate for legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Australia

Renata Grossi*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    9 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Love is ever-present in the debate for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Its importance, however, is often underestimated. I will show in this article that much can be gained by viewing this issue through the analytical lens of romantic love. This analysis will show that romantic love is a contested idea. On the one hand it claims to embody a radical and permissive ideology that is capable of penetrating established social and cultural divides. On the other hand, however, love has been accused of replicating patriarchy, and of being ideologically heteronormative. As such, love is not necessarily the answer needed to win the legal argument for same-sex marriage – not unless we begin a process of redefining love for our times. They say that the world was built for two Only worth living if somebody is loving you.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)487-505
    Number of pages19
    JournalInternational Journal of Law in Context
    Volume8
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2012

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