Introduction
In the last decade, the concept of family has changed significantly in part due to the legalization of same-sex marriage in the USA. The contemporary understanding of a family unit and its purpose in broader society has undergone meaningful transformations shifting from the focus on the goal of procreation to one of mutual acceptance. This literature review aims to illustrate how the legalization of gay marriage helped redefine the meaning of family and argues that it transformed the social role of the unit and strengthened traditional values.
Literature Review
The concept of family is an essential one for any society. However, the notions characteristic of the 18th, 19th, and even 20th centuries vary substantially from the contemporary one. For instance, the mid-20th-century idea of a nuclear family consisted of “two first-marriage parents and their biological children” and was based primarily on gender, race, social and financial status, and other constraints (Russell, 2019, p. 361). The inclusion of children in the definition illustrates that the social role of such a unit was considered to be one of procreation and providing them with a stable background. The existing body of literature on family demographics and relationships is extensive and includes same-sex families in its discussion. However, few articles discuss how gay marriage helped to redefine the modern understanding of the concept. For the purposes of this research, three articles were selected. One of the selected works discusses the current demographic trends and is used to illustrate how the social role of the family unit changed over time. The following two articles consider the impact of gay marriage on traditional values and equality in such unions.
Redefining the Social Role of Family Units
In preceding decades, the family was viewed as a concept of two different-sex parents and children. Thus, two people who decided to marry were expected to produce biological offspring and raise them as functioning members of society. The article by Smock and Schwartz (2020) discusses a variety of demographic trends in society, including the measurable changes in same-gender and opposite-gender unions. According to Smock and Schwartz (2020), same-sex married couples are less likely to have children, adopted or biological, than different-sex spouses. Specifically, the census illustrates that 19% of married same-gender couples are raising children compared to 39% of married opposite-gender families (Smock & Schwartz, 2020). In addition, the declining fertility among different populations in the United States shows that having children is not a priority for most families. It can be argued that the legalization of same-sex marriage influenced the shift in understanding the social role of the family from a unit with children, biological or otherwise, to a union of two people. Thus, the function of education and socializing with children can no longer be viewed as the primary one for all families.
Redefining Family Values and Power Equality
Family roles and values also changed significantly over time, with the legalization of gay marriage resulting in reevaluation and redefining and encouraging an open dialogue about them. For instance, Siegel (2017) provides an examination of the history of the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States, the public’s initial reaction to it, and the debate about the notions of marriage and family. Siegel (2017) notes that the fight for same-gender unions saw the LGBT activists supporting the traditional values of truth, honesty, and fidelity to one’s partner while insisting on the country’s legal commitment to equality. Thus, it can be asserted that gay the legalization of gay marriage forced society as a whole to reconsider its views on values and shift from heteronormative child-centric ideas of a family unit. At the same time, other values such as validation of the partners’ feelings and dedication to one another came to the forefront.
Gender inequality in different-sex marriages can lead to marital conflict and shift focus from traditional values to a power struggle. Pollitt et al. (2018) aimed to examine equality, distribution of family roles, and quality of gay marriages to recognize how belonging to the same sex affects the couple. According to Pollitt et al. (2018, p. 110), gender inequality “is maintained through gender norms, often upheld by hegemonic masculinity.” Members of the LGBT community are less likely to be gender-conforming, leading to a unique relationship dynamic. However, the research shows that greater conformity to societal gender norms in male and female same-sex couples leads to power equality in marriage (Pollitt et al., 2018). Thus, if both men in the relationship exhibit traditional masculinity traits, they are less likely to experience the same gender inequality marital problems that opposite-gender couples do. Overall, the research shows that power equality in same-gender marriages can help circumvent many issues that different-sex couples face and focus on the relationship itself.
Conclusion
In summary, the last decade was marked by a meaningful improvement in the protection of rights of minorities and the long-awaited legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. This momentous change also led to reevaluation and reassessment of the concept of family. Thus, the contemporary notion of the unit is somewhat removed from the child-centric visions, with the traditional values such as fidelity and honesty and power equality within marriage being championed.
References
Pollitt, A. M., Robinson, B. A., & Umberson, D. (2018). Gender conformity, perceptions of shared power, and marital quality in same- and different-sex marriages. Gender & Society, 32(1), 109–131. Web.
Siegel, R. (2017). Community in Conflict: Same-sex marriage and backlash. UCLA Law Review, 64, 1728–1743.
Smock, P. J., & Schwartz, C. R. (2020). The demography of families: A review of patterns and change. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 9–34. Web.