Marriage is a hotly contested institution in the United States today. Almost everyone has a strong opinion about what marriage means, and who should be permitted to marry. Marriage has a long and extremely complicated history, which I will only touch on here. It seems that issues such as polygamy, gay marriage, and other sexual practices within marriage have been debated by governments and religions orders for thousands of years, and these debates are still alive and just as controversial in today's culture.
Same sex marriage is a controversial issue that has riddled the headlines over that past few years. Political candidates have used their opinions on the matter, whether positive or negative, to attract votes during their campaigns. Usually, the conservative right associates itself with so-called conservative values, including opposition to things such as same sex marriage, abortion, and other "dangerous" liberal movements. The liberal left, conversely, supports such movements. Massachusetts and our lovely state of California are the only states that recognize same sex-marriage, though is seems the trend is gaining speed and support. Many other states offer things called domestic partnerships and/or civil unions which offers some or all of the benefits of marriage (depending on the state). Though we tend to think of this a very new and current issue, the first (documented) same sex marriages actually occurred under the Roman Empire. The rise of Christianity, however, made this practice illegal, and eventually, punishable by death. (Wikipedia) This fluctuation in opinion and law seems typical for such moral debates as marriage and is almost surely not to resolve itself in the near future (or perhaps ever).
Polygamy is another ancient practice that has recently gained a great deal of media attention as of late. The FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints), a sect of the Mormon faith, has long practiced polygamy in the United States, a practice that is deemed illegal in the US. However, perhaps because that have kept to themselves and perhaps because of the religious nature of their beliefs, the have been largely unbothered. However, in 2006, the leader of the FLDS, Warren Jeffs was arrested for arranging marriages with under-age girls. The country quickly became outraged at the "marriage" of young teenage girls to men in their 50s and 60s. Just this year, 416 children were take from a FLDS compound because of fears of abuse. However, this seemed to only produce sympathy from the public and the children were returned. It seems that the issue has "blown over" in a sense and the media has abandoned coverage in the past month or so. It is interesting to note, that although in opposition to polygamy laws, very few are actually charged with the crime. Even Warren Jeffs was arrested not for polygamy, but because he was responsible for mandating underage marriages (and therefore statutory rape).
Sodomy laws (which includes anal/oral sex in homosexual and heterosexual couples) still exist in several states, though were deemed by federal court to be unconstitutional (due to invasion of privacy) in 2003. Most states had used them to enforce their positions against gay marriage and homosexuality in general, though the laws did not specify homosexuality as the target. As a result, until 2003, many married couples were breaking the law when they engaged in anything but traditional, vaginal intercourse. This seems ludicrous in such modern, progressive times, but it's true. In Alabama, the sale of sex toys for pleasure purposes (as opposed to medicinal) is illegal even today. Owners of such shops have to provide a questionnaire to all potential buyer to determine if they "need" the toys for a sexual disorder. Of course, buyers have become savvy to such methods and kn what answers are needed to secure the purchase.
On a more serious note, marital rape is a crime that often goes un-reported. Until 1976, it was not even considered a crime in the United States. To think that just over thirty years ago, a rape could occur within a marriage with absolutely no legal ramifications is astounding to many, but is accurate nonetheless. Though the state mandated what kind of sex you were permitted to have, it did not care if you were consenting. Thankfully, with the feminist movement and progressive politics in general, this law was created to protect married couples equally as non-marrieds.
It is strange that a government has such a strong desire to regulate the sexual practices of its people. By regulating marriage, a government controls the most intimate part of most people's lives. Why is this necessary? While marriage is widely regarded as a legal contract, and therefore a government issue, why must governing bodies go beyond controlling the legal elements of the marriage to controlling (or trying to) what happens in the bedroom?
2 comments:
Perhaps this will sound ignorant, but I really didn't know and hadn't thought about how intertwined sex is with marriage. Your post showed the connections between the two really well and from various angles. I also really liked the questions you asked towards the end of the piece; you gave me a lot to think about.
You have amazing flow as a writer, and you make it very easy to follow your train of thought; you also keep your reader incredibly engaged/interested throughout your post. Do you think you will keep your blog going after this class?
Yes, I too liked your final paragraph of questions. I found it much more engaging that the bulk of your post, which seemed sterile at times. For a subject with such obvious ironies (as you suggest at the end), you approach the issues with an incredibly straight face, as it were. The sex in your title threw me off. What was your keyword, finally? Of course I know that it is marriage, but tacking on "sex" in the title made nervous that you were going to lose focus. Then, when you did lose focus (e.g., "Usually, the conservative right associates itself with so-called conservative values, including opposition to things such as same sex marriage, abortion, and other "dangerous" liberal movements. The liberal left, conversely, supports such movements."—it had nothing to do with sex!) Also, I wonder about sentences such as this: "Almost everyone has a strong opinion about what marriage means, and who should be permitted to marry." Wouldn't it be more interesting to go against this assumption (because certainly there is no way to back this up other than polling, which is a ridiculously self-fulfilling way of producing knowledge), and instead wonder about the people who (whether they get married or not) do not in fact have "strong opinions" about marriage? I think you might be surprised to find out that, while we assume it is supposed to be a heated issue, perhaps it is not in day-to-day life. I mean it is easy to go around and say "What do you think about marriage?" to people—but this does not necessarily mean that those people are 'strongly' opining about it either before, during, or after the questioning process. Do you see what I mean? But all in all you've written a nice summary of some of the 'hot' topics (or mediatized topics, in any event) that circulate around marriage these days. Really, you have barely touched on ‘sex’, which is perhaps the most complex and difficult subject for us humans to think carefully and critically about.
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