The Shift of Lesbian Mothers’ Attitude after Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage in Taiwan

Yen-Jung Tseng, University at Albany, SUNY

There has been a heated debate about how same-sex marriage will lead the sexuality movements. Some queer scholars claim that marriage could replicate and privilege the form of marriage and marginalize other forms of relationships because marriage institution is basically based on the heterosexual patriarchy monogamy. At the same time, some feminists argue that Black and Latino same-sex families would be disproportionally influenced if they do not have legal protections to protect their family because they earn less and are more likely to raise children. My prior research in 2013 in Taiwan showed that different personal histories of sexuality, family types, and socioeconomic status influence lesbian mothers’ intention to enter the marriage institution. Following the findings, this research interviewed the same group of reporters after ten years to collect longitudinal data and answer how legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan in 2019 has influenced lesbian mothers’ choices, attitudes, and practices toward marriage and through what mechanism legalizing same-sex marriage made or not made changes, and why.

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 Presented in Session 198. Marriage Laws, Sex Positivity, and Negotiations over Bodily Autonomy under Patriarchy