I'd like to see "marriage" removed from government entirely.
They could do something like give joint tax status for people who sign a partnership contract or something, but the word "marriage" is so besotted with religious trappings it simply needs to be retired to a completely non-legal status.
As far as the VRA goes, I think activists and people can have more than one focus, can put their energy into more than one cause. Anyway, it's silly to think that queer-liberation isn't tied to all people's liberation.
All good, but I'd also like to see progressives (including gay rights activists) address stuff like the ongoing racial and gender hierarchy in this country, the fact that many of the accomplishments of the 1960s civil rights movement and 1970s women's liberation movements are being systematically dismantled. Obviously, the struggle for LGBT rights is far from over, but given the time and effort many hetero women have put into gay rights, I think it's time to give something back (demanding maternity leave, free daycare, an new ERA, full reproductive rights). And given that racism is still a serious problem plaguing this country, I would like to see some serious talk from the gay rights community about the plight of communities of color and the economic and political framework that makes that possible. I fear one day we're going to wake up and LGBT people are going to be doing pretty well while other minorities languish in even worse conditions. Progress is neither automatic nor inevitable, and we shouldn't assume that full equality will exist when gay rights are enshrined. So after getting this done, remember the rest of the marginalized.
I don't buy into white euroradicalism/first world marxism/anarchism that implies that prior exclusion means LGBTs can't participate in socially recognized and ratified partnerships, nor do I buy into the anti-individualistic notion of withdrawing choice and mandate from two(+) people because the state! heteronormativity! classist! and such. udah pia taiboo, but my great-grandparents sang love songs across the south so I'm kind of a sap for that romance and cultural ratification of it thing.
I'll defend your right to diss cultural norms you don't share, though! :)
"given that racism is still a serious problem plaguing this country, I would like to see some serious talk from the gay rights community about the plight of communities of color"
Is that like opening up a cute little design shop and cafe in the CD?
"other minorities languish in even worse conditions. "
Asians are doing fine. Last census showed they had the highest household income of any group.
So sorry sweetie, what you want is socialism and/or communism, and that's just sooooo gay!
"Destruction of the bourgeois notion of family, period."
Well, go hang out in 'hoods where baby mamas and non-existent fathers are the norm and tell us how the 'destruction of the bourgeois notion of family' has worked out? Be sure not to flash your iPhone around.
"You keep trying to paint single parentdom as a bad thing."
It's not me painting moron, it's the US census. You know, "facts":
"Ninety percent of single-parent families are headed by females. Not surprisingly, single mothers with dependent children have the highest rate of poverty across all demographic groups (Olson & Banyard, 2003). Approximately 60 percent of U.S. children living in mother-only families are impoverished, compared with only 11 percent of two-parent families. The rate of poverty is even higher in African-American single-parent families, in which two out of every three children are poor."
They could do something like give joint tax status for people who sign a partnership contract or something, but the word "marriage" is so besotted with religious trappings it simply needs to be retired to a completely non-legal status.
As far as the VRA goes, I think activists and people can have more than one focus, can put their energy into more than one cause. Anyway, it's silly to think that queer-liberation isn't tied to all people's liberation.
I'll defend your right to diss cultural norms you don't share, though! :)
But wait, haven't our Queer Leaders been telling us they weren't redefining marriage? If marriage is so terrible, hows the baby mama business doing?
Is that like opening up a cute little design shop and cafe in the CD?
"other minorities languish in even worse conditions. "
Asians are doing fine. Last census showed they had the highest household income of any group.
So sorry sweetie, what you want is socialism and/or communism, and that's just sooooo gay!
Well, go hang out in 'hoods where baby mamas and non-existent fathers are the norm and tell us how the 'destruction of the bourgeois notion of family' has worked out? Be sure not to flash your iPhone around.
"You keep trying to paint single parentdom as a bad thing."
It's not me painting moron, it's the US census. You know, "facts":
"Ninety percent of single-parent families are headed by females. Not surprisingly, single mothers with dependent children have the highest rate of poverty across all demographic groups (Olson & Banyard, 2003). Approximately 60 percent of U.S. children living in mother-only families are impoverished, compared with only 11 percent of two-parent families. The rate of poverty is even higher in African-American single-parent families, in which two out of every three children are poor."