As the nationwide campaign for same-sex marriage rages in states across the United States and crowds of same-sex couples rush to marriage license counters, the goal of marriage is contested within LGBT communities and the LGBT movement. Rarely has a social movement goal so central to a movement’s political agenda been so fraught. At the same time that anti-gay forces fight to preserve marriage for one man and one woman, lesbian and gay activists argue with passion about the viability and social consequences of same-sex marriage. The goal of this book is to understand the debate within LGBT com ... More

As the nationwide campaign for same-sex marriage rages in states across the United States and crowds of same-sex couples rush to marriage license counters, the goal of marriage is contested within LGBT communities and the LGBT movement. Rarely has a social movement goal so central to a movement’s political agenda been so fraught. At the same time that anti-gay forces fight to preserve marriage for one man and one woman, lesbian and gay activists argue with passion about the viability and social consequences of same-sex marriage. The goal of this book is to understand the debate within LGBT communities over same-sex marriage, how this conflict has influenced the nationwide campaign for same-sex marriage, and the extent to which disputes and fears that surround same-sex marriage are justified. The essays in this volume analyze the discourses, strategies, and composition of LGBT social movement organizations pursuing same-sex marriage. They also address the dire predictions of some LGBT commentators that same-sex marriage will spell the end of queer identity and community. Case studies illuminate the complex politics of same-sex marriage, making clear that the current debate among LGBT activists over whether marriage is assimilationist or transformative is far too simplistic. Instead, the impact of the marriage equality movement and the meaning of marriage equality activism is complex, often marked by contradictory impulses, that are analyzed throughout this volume.