A Peace Proposal for the Same-Sex Marriage Wars: Restoring the Household to its Proper Place

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Publication Information

10 William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law 195 (2004)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate both the reality of family life and the normative arguments surrounding marriage and the nuclear family in order to make a preliminary case for a move to the household as the key organizing concept in American law. First, it is important to briefly look at the reality of family forms in American society and the burden placed on the nuclear family to represent this diversity of family forms, as well as to understand what the gay and covenant marriage movements are about and where they currently stand.

Second, through the lens of family history and sociology, I want to consider whether the so-called 'nuclear family' is indeed the key model or social building block that family duties have been structured around, which might argue for its continued place as a legal construct.

Third, I will argue that both the gay marriage and covenant marriage movements have, in fact, promoted a 'choice' model for the creation of the legal family that is both historically excluding and morally problematical. Finally, I will argue that the household is a viable legal concept for dealing with many of the five vital functions that households and families have traditionally served: sexual expression, reproduction, childhood socialization, economic interdependence, and social support. I will also address the objections to a wide-scale adoption of the household in place of the nuclear family as a legal model.

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