著者

吉原 令子

出版者

英米文化学会

雑誌

英米文化 (ISSN:09173536)

巻号頁・発行日

no.39, pp.125-141, 2009-03-31

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The movement to legalize same-sex marriage was revitalized in the 1990s in the US. This paper examines the reasons for this revitalization and analyzes the movement in relation to feminism. Gays/Lesbians called for same-sex marriage rights in the 1990s because of the influence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and a lesbian baby-boom in the 1980s. At the same time, NOW, a liberal feminist group in the US, officially declared support for same-sex marriage. One reason for solidarity between liberal feminists and gays/lesbians was that both groups shared liberal values, including the pursuit of freedom, equality, and justice through social reform and legal change. Both groups also resisted the conservative thinking expounded by the Moral Majority and Reagan supporters. These conservatives opposed same-sex marriage and attacked both gays/lesbians and feminists during the 1980s. However, queer theorists started to criticize this movement in the 2000s because the legalization of same-sex marriage leads to assimilation, normalization, and loss of sexual diversity. They also criticized activists for prioritizing legalization of same-sex marriage over issues of poverty and discrimination against lower class queers. I analyze their criticism of the same-sex marriage movement and explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of the movement.