the institution of marriage & the fight for equality...

marriage is a hot topic at the moment… marriage equality has been long sought after by many gay & lesbian people, and now perhaps their battle may soon be over, well, at least one more hurdle may be surmounted… “the ALP’s left faction is claiming the numbers to remove from the party’s policy platform a reference to the Marriage Act which defines the union as that between a man and a woman” ... read more from "left believes it has numbers to change policy on same-sex marriage" - this issue will be debated at the alp national conference this week so there’s definitely an interesting time ahead…

now i actually don’t believe in the institution itself - it has its roots firmly planted in patriarchal, judeo-christian history and has been a major ‘tool’ in the subjugation of womyn…

consequently i can’t get excited over an institution i find oppressive – obviously with that goes a lack of enthusiasm for the trappings of a wedding ceremony... oh, i declined my last wedding invitation for those reasons and my friends totally understood where i was 'coming from'...  

there are a number of weddings being planned at work at the moment so i try my hardest to avoid the discussions, especially the ones about 'the gown' - 'fashion' in general is of no interest to me - but after an 'interaction' i was involuntarily drawn into and which i really didn't want to be part of today, i so needed to talk to a friend this evening - he has similar views to me so his empathy and understanding of the situation and how i was feeling was invaluable - and his comments were far more full-on 'ra-ra-ra' political than my pathetic 'i'm not into that crap' response, rather than getting into a 'heavy' conversation when i felt 'backed into a corner' after already declining to participate in 'the gown' conversation - the choice is yours to marry, but equally the choice is mine not to be involved... i guess the assumption that because you're female you must be into all the - as my nan would have called it - 'frippery' - is a tad irksome too...  

back to the point here... while the institution of marriage exists, equality is a fundamental right and same sex partners should be accorded the same entitlements and choices as heterosexual partners… i'll stand up for marriage equality, but i'll maintain my view on the oppressive nature of the institution...

i read an interesting article by nori j. rost, minister of all souls unitarian universalist church in colorado springs, “a lesbian pastor with a predominantly gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered congregation in the center of Conservative Christianity”, entitled ‘marriage and patriarchy’ –  “In this paper I will address the Judeo-Christian historical contours of marriage and how those foundational patriarchal beliefs about marriage still shape public and social policy regarding marriage entitlements, explore the unconscious reasons that conservative politicians and religious leaders oppose same sex marriage, and finally, seek to answer the unasked question with a different ethic that, in the words of Dr. Mary Hunt, respected Catholic lesbian, feminist theologian spoken to a summer school class in July, 2004, seeks relational equality for all rather than legal privilege for a few.”...  it’s quite thought-provoking…

last weekend turned out to be quite a pleasant one... i caught up with Larry the librarian on friday evening - we just got 'takeaways' from fitzroy street and came back to my place and ate, chatted and 'choofed' until it was time for him to pick up his partner - a nice couple of hours 'whiled away'...

saturday, well - i just watched st kilda lose the grand final - but there's always next year!

sunday was a miserable day outside so it was just the day to curl up and watch a few episodes of 'weeds' - i'm midway through season 4 at the moment...

irene, louie and the country cuzzin clan came down on monday - it was irene's 55th birthday (she's 6 months older than me) so we went to tien tien in fitzroy street for dinner... it is soooo nice eating with another vegetarian - you get to share different dishes without having to check which dish you're 'tucking into' - and you don't have to watch animal being devoured in front of you!!!

irene and i met in the 70s - she was going out with my brother then - well, they even ended up marrying after a short time (it was one of those 'rebellious' things - they were getting married regardless of what anyone said!!!) it was either late '71 or early '72 and i would have been 16 going on 17 (and the engagement to james was obviously no more because he wasn't at the wedding!!!) - but, like my engagement, the marriage didn't last long (unlike our friendship!!!)

here's a photo of the wedding - check out darrell's coiffured hair and velvet suit - such a 'sign of the times'!!! and i'm wearing hotpants!!!

ahh, the 70s - so much style - colour anyway!!!! pity the photo doesn't show the shoes too - i was wearing really high cork platforms - what's old is new - what's new is old!!!!