Projects per year
Abstract
Same-sex marriage has been one of the most widely discussed social issues in contemporary Australia for some time. In late 2017, after holding a contentious national postal survey that year, the Australia government introduced legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry. This article draws on a major national lesbian and gay oral history project conducted in partnership with the National Library of Australia between 2012 and 2015, when discussions of same-sex marriage were becoming increasingly widespread. It investigates the way interview subjects incorporated marriage into their narratives. In doing so, it highlights how understandings of marriage — both amongst lesbian and gay people and heterosexual people — have shifted and evolved over time. While some subjects saw marriage as a somewhat outdated, religious, and patriarchal concept, many others invested personal significance in the institution, arguing that allowing gay men and lesbians access to marriage would be a strong symbol of social progress and equality in a secular society. We conclude with one young interviewee who had managed to reconcile his faith with his sexuality and desire for marriage equality.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 269-284 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | Journal of Religious History |
Volume | 43 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2019 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Marriage as a marker of secular inclusion? Oral history and lesbian and gay narratives on marriage in contemporary Australia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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The Past in the Present: Australian Lesbian and Gay Life Stories
Reynolds, R., Robinson, S., Jennings, R., Moore, C., Willett, G. & Bradley, K.
12/12/12 → 31/12/16
Project: Research