Same-sex Couples Fitting into the Heterosexual Norm: How the Early Stages of Samesex Union Regulations Privileged Only “Heterosexual-like” Couples

Parejas del mismo sexo adaptándose a la norma heterosexual: la manera como las primeras etapas de regulación de las uniones de parejas del mismo sexo privilegiaron solo a las parejas heteronormadas

Resumen

This article critically analyzes the legal reforms that regulated same-sex couple relationships through institutions other than marriage between 1989 and 2001. I begin with the Danish registered partnership as the first formal regulation for same-sex couples and end before the Netherlands’ same-sex marriage legalization in 2001, which shifted the discourse towards pursuing marriage equality. From the analysis of legal sources and secondary materials, I identify the clash between three distinct discourses. First, an assimilation between opposite-sex (heterosexual) couples and same-sex couples that categorized gays and lesbians as “heterosexual-like” subjects in order to achieve legal recognition. Second, opposing voices within the gay and lesbian activist community demanding different forms of regulation capable of rejecting the patriarchal structures of economic dependence traditionally embedded in marriage law. Third, traditional agendas from conservative groups fighting against any form of legal recognition of same-sex (homosexual) couples. I conclude that the assimilationist discourse, which I argue promoted heteronormative couples, gained ground because it was more strategic for achieving recognition under family law.