When I was pregnant and
went to the doctor for the first time I had to fill out the obvious form with
my name, address and social security number. I also had to check a box for
marital status and was surprised to see that there were only 2 options here in
the US: single and married. At the time I wasn’t married so I had to check
single. But I wasn’t single either; I was living together with Dr. BrownEyes
and considering that we had been together for five years and had decided to move
to a different country together and have a baby together it felt weird to check
‘single’. It especially felt weird (and a bit sad) when the nurse asked me in a
hopeful but doubtful voice whether the father of the baby was going to be
involved at all.
I was surprised to see
only those two options, because back home (in the country that was the first in
the world to legalize gay marriage over ten years ago)
there are always more than two options to the question of marital status. For
example you can choose the option ‘cohabitant’ if you are living together but
you aren’t married. You can even make a legal ‘samenlevingscontract’,
which by the way is not just meant for people who are in a romantic
relationship but can also exist between two people who decide to live together
(as friends or roommates). It can legally specify anything from who bought the
couch and who bought the tv to what would happen with the children when one of
the partners passes away. The next option is a registered partnership.
This was initially meant for gay people before it was legal for them to get
married, but can also be entered into by heterosexual couples. And then the
final box you can check is ‘married’. I have to add that back home, marriage is
by far not as big of a deal as here in the US and many of my friends, even
those with children are not married.
That's really Dr. BrownEyes and me! |
For me, the initial
(but not very romantic) reason to get married was so that everything was
automatically arranged for BlueEyes in case anything was to happen to either of
us. However, now that I am married I have to admit that it feels different. Not
just because it’s much harder and more expensive to split up, but also because
now we are officially connected to each other (and because we got to have this
awesome day and I got to walk around in a beautiful dress the whole day).
So why am I writing
this blog post? I’m writing it because the situation with the nurse asking me
if Dr. BrownEyes was going to be involved at all since we weren’t married made
me feel a little bit what it would be like if you would always have to check
the ‘single’ box, even though you had been living together with your partner
for an eternity. And for me it wasn’t even that I wasn’t allowed to get
married, I had just chosen not to do so. I can only imagine how left out you must
feel if you cannot take part in all aspects of a society just because of the
gender of your partner. It makes me sad and angry to think about that, and I
hope that soon everyone will realize that legalizing gay marriage doesn’t mean
the end of civilization or destruction of the institution of marriage. I'm also writing this post as a part of the diversity in science carnival for pride hosted by GertyZ.
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this stuff.
After reading your post, I'm really amazed that you let me know this very informative topic of yours. As what I've read from other blog post about the legalization of gay marriage, there's nothing complaints about it. In fact, it doesn't affect the society right? I have heard that the newly wed gays lived as an ordinary citizens.
ReplyDeleteSince, there are several parts of the country who is against of this type of marriage. I hope also that they will really give freedom for those gay couples out there to live happily ever.
Very importantly, support each other. If your Gay partner has to do something for his or her school, studies or work, support him or her. This will make them feel loved, and it will make them realize that they also have a friend in you, not just a romantic interest. Be supportive. Be their number one fan.
ReplyDeleteBeing gay is a way of living, feeling, lovin