Scrutinising our lives
Posted by Maman Poulet on 30 Apr 2008 at 12:43 am | Tagged as: Equality, Gay, Irish Politics, LGBT, Lesbian, Marriage Equality, Queer, Same Sex Partnerships
“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives.”
(Audre Lorde – Poetry Is Not A Luxury)
The time has (more than) come to reframe the narrow terms of the marriage debate in Ireland.
And so to Marie Mulholland’s critique of the current campaign for same sex marriage here.
The uninterrogated pursuit of marriage to the exclusion of any other regularisation of family forms and partnerships has left the campaign open to allegations of ‘mé feinism’ as overheard recently in one discussion. Inevitably, it has led to a surge in the adoption of at best naïve and at worst reactionary politics and conservative values in the rush to support gay marriage. Perhaps, it is timely to remember the words of Audre Lorde, ‘the masters tools will never dismantle the masters house.’
Read the full essay at Irish Left Review.
Thank god that someone is saying this!!!! It also reminds me strongly of another feminist saying: “I don’t want an equal slice of the cake, I want to change the recipe”.
The reactionary attitudes around within LGB communities I find really harrowing. Is our greatest ambition really to be married with a couple of rug rats? Do we have no nobler ambitions for ourselves? I have no problem with people wanting committed relationships, with the urge to be a parent, with the desire for equality – in fact I will fight for equality till my dying breath if needs be, but first it was the equality to become part of a killing machine (the armed forces) and now it’s the equality to become part of the institution which historically gives women fewer rights. What the hell is going on out there? Someone left the cake out in the rain!
Marriage does not have to be the only solution and in fact should not be the solution. The fact is other ways of extending gay and Lesbian rights need to be looked at in order to level the playing field. Surely it is not to difficult for legislators to look outside the box for once.
I think it is inaccurate of her to describe it as “The uninterrogated pursuit of marriage“. She may not like the outcome many have drawn from the interrogation, but to say that such exploration did not happen is incorrect.
Where and when and with whom did this interrogation take place tipster? Where there open public discussions, a series of workshops perhaps, debates written up and dialogues entered into? Or did the interrogation consist of a group of selected friends who with a healthy hand out from an unelected, private body, got together to tell us that if we dont comply we are colluding in our own oppression. I’m curious, very curious. If I and others know nothing about the “exploration” as you put it maybe there’s a reason – because it was secretive and exclusive.