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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

The right to be single

28 replies

VestalVirgin · 06/12/2015 19:18

Interesting article: www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/201512/you-have-no-right-be-single

I mostly thought about this in terms of discrimination of homosexual people, but on the other hand - why should people even HAVE to get married to enjoy all those privileges? What about those who didn't find someone?
Or those who simply want to stay single?

OP posts:
SomeDyke · 07/12/2015 18:41

As regards hospitals, it was a big issue for many gay men during the AIDS years, when partners of many years would find they had no rights to even bury their partner, once unsympathetic family had arrived on the scene.

What about responsibilities as well as rights? I have a different viewpoint, since for many years I thought I would never see gay marriage. So when the option arrived, we had to say, what are the rights and responsibilities? There is more involved than just tax breaks, you take on responsibilities as well! Plus there is the social capital and frankly the recognition you get from being married! People at least know that it means some level of commitment. I guess that is the difference between marriage and siblings co-inheriting -- you choose your partner, you can't choose your family!

Plus the 'two sisters' scenario is always rolled-out by the right-wing press, because frankly signals to me that they don't see lesbians as a valid relationship or family, hence this direct comparison as being either equally valid or more valid. But if they don't take on any responsibilities for each other (Would your rights to benefit be altered if you declared you shared a house with your sister? Would you expect her to support you financially if you lost your job?), they why should they get the benefits that (some) married people do?

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 07/12/2015 19:30

Plus the 'two sisters' scenario is always rolled-out by the right-wing press, because frankly signals to me that they don't see lesbians as a valid relationship or family, hence this direct comparison as being either equally valid or more valid

That's not really a fair comment .Two lesbians can get married or enter into a civil partnership and have the same benefits as a married couple . 2 sisters can't.

IrenetheQuaint · 07/12/2015 20:01

The married tax allowance (reintroduced by Cameron, as I recall) is ludicrous.

As a long-term single person I am also very familiar with the "inclination to stereotype people who are not married as miserable or lonely or self-centered or broken". It's an enormously damaging tendency, and I'm sure (as many threads on the Relationships board attest) that it makes unhappily married people much more likely to stay in shitty relationships, and unhappily single people to jump into shitty relationships.

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