Abstract
In the previous chapter, I examined the views of 42 men who supported gay marriage. In this chapter, the focus is on the views of the 23 men who opposed gay marriage, the 20 men who supported civil union but not gay marriage, and the views of the 12 men who were unsure what they thought about it. Analysis showed that men aged 51 or older were more likely to oppose gay marriage and that the older men who opposed gay marriage tended to argue that it was a concession to heteronormativity and that gay culture had become too mainstream in a ‘family values’ way.
I think marriage as an institution is passé. And we are trying to conform too much to a heterosexual norm. … My closest friend … and [I] have made a pact that, when we reach our diamond age, we both will start living together as friends. … For me, sharing my old age with this friend seems … a better possibility than being with a lover.
(Teddy, aged 47, Mumbai)
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Notes
For the status of the push for gay marriage in Australia in early 2000s, see P. Robinson (2008) The Changing World of Gay Men (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan), pp. 124–5.
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© 2013 Peter Robinson
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Robinson, P. (2013). Cohabitation. In: Gay Men’s Relationships Across the Life Course. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137314680_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137314680_7
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