An interesting take on the gay marriage debate in Slate, today.
The basic premise of the article is that many (most?) opponents of same-sex marriage aren’t really opposed to gay rights at all; their opposition to same sex marriage isn’t based on bigotry. Rather, their opinion is derived from confusion/fear about changing gender roles, and a measure of uncertainty about a world in which “manly men” and “meek women” aren’t necessarily considered to be an ideal.
By this thesis, the statement that one makes by opposing same-sex marriage is “let me figure out where I fit in before we blur the lines further”, rather than “gay people don’t deserve the same rights that us straight people have”.
This isn’t to say that there aren’t some who are making the second point, as the article wisely acknowledges. But it does add a wrinkle to a debate that’s often seen as having only two positions, and two motives.
I don’t have much more to add right now (my brain is mush from trying to debug a couple of weird problems all day today). Just thought that the article was worth pointing out.