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Thursday, March 04, 2004

Fear of a queer constitution

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to rise above satire in my posts about the right’s opposition to gay marriage (here and here)-- it’s just that when I come across certain culturally conservative positions in their violent death throes, I find that ridicule is sometimes the emotionally safest response I have.  If I were gay, chances are I’d be more inclined to engage the issue more substantially, and object to-- among other things-- the serious limitations entailed in most contemporary thinking about forms of companionate coupledom.  Safer for me, I suppose, to imagine my Mullah/Senator Rick Santorum showing up in New Paltz, New York asking for permission to marry his dog.

Fortunately, I have some brilliant queer theorist friends and the technological capacity to link to their latest work.  Check out these two essays-- one by Robert McRuer, the other by Lisa Duggan.  You’ll be glad you did-- and you’ll be both smarter and queerer for reading ‘em, too.

UPDATE:  Oops, forgot to explain that headline.  From the closing grafs of McRuer’s piece:

It’s ironic that the culture has increasingly and quietly assimilated queer cultural and relational forms even as we have been surrounded by loud cultural conversations about the need to protect the sanctity of heterosexual “marriage.” In the face of this irony, LGBT folks could, perhaps, push for a constitutional amendment to keep straight people away from our sacred institutions. . . .

I didn’t want to leave the impression that on the subject of gay marriage, I was the Satire Guy and Bob was the Straight Man.

Posted by Michael on 03/04 at 04:59 PM
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