Same-Sex Relationships

• Explanations for Increase in Same-Sex Relationships:

  > legal changes

  > decline in stigma

  > secularisation
• Same-Sex Relationships - Legal Changes:

  > 1967 - male homosexual acts were decriminalised for consenting adults over 21 (more recently the age of consent has equalised with heterosexual sex)

  > 2004 - Civil Partnerships Act - same-sex couples given similar legal rights to married couples in terms of pensions, inheritance and property

  > 2014 - same-sex couples are able to legally marry in the UK
• Same-Sex Relationships - Decline in Stigma:

  > polls show an increase in tolerance of homosexuality over time
• Same-Sex Relationships - Secularisation:

  > due to secularisation, many believe that it is not a sin to be homosexual, as sacred texts state

  > in 2014, the first homosexual marriages took place
• Same-Sex Relationships Debate:

  > whether homosexual relationships and families are similar or different to heterosexual ones
• Homosexual Relationships are Similar:

  > Weeks - homosexuals create families based on the idea of 'friendship as kinship', and describes these as 'chosen families' which offer the same stability and security as heterosexual families

  > he argues that increased social acceptance may explain a trend towards same-sex cohabitation and stable relationships that resemble heterosexual relationships
• Homosexual Relationships are Different:

  > Allan and Crow - because of the absence of a legal framework until recently, same-sex partners have had to negotiate their commitment and responsibilities more than heterosexual couples, which may have made same-sex relationships more flexible and less stable