Same-sex marriage policies and lesbian family life

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between marriage equality and its impact on parenting and committed monogamous relationships for lesbian women. Specifically, this study aimed to explore how marriage equality, or the lack there of, affects the daily lives of lesbian mothers and their children. As part of this study, the contours of the same-sex marriage debate are reviewed. Additionally, the debate itself is explored to help understand how it has taken shape both within and outside the GLBTQ community. Following this examination of the discourse surrounding same-sex marriage, research on lesbian family dynamics is discussed. This line of research provides an important compliment to a focus on legal consciousness. Notably, how marriage equality or lack thereof matters in the lives of lesbian families necessarily includes attention to the day-to-day experiences in such families.