Gay marriages and the US elections

Ameerica is gearing up to elect its next president. The Democrats don’t have to work too hard to find issues to go Bush bashing. The pr...

Ameerica is gearing up to elect its next president. The Democrats don’t have to work too hard to find issues to go Bush bashing. The protracted war in Iraq and the continuing loss of American lives have adversely affected the popularity of the ‘War President’. If there is outcry over the loss of US lives in Iraq, there is mounting concern on the outsourcing of jobs to India and China. One of the campaign placards for the Democrats summed up the mood aptly: “Outsource Bush to China: Save your jobs. Vote Democrat”.

With John Kerry as their presidential nominee, the Democrats harp on jobs, the economy, health care and the war in Iraq. And on all these issues of course the Republicans are uneasy. It is in their interest to keep the pressure on ‘national security’, and keep patriotic jingoism in full sail. The mood here in the US is swinging from the Republicans to the Democrats. The ‘national security’ card clearly has its limitations. The futility of the Iraq war and its connections with national security are slowly but steadily sinking into the minds of even those who voted Republican in the 2000 elections. New enemies have, thus, to be created to combat this mood swing away from the Republicans. And, predictably, religion and gender are the new divisive referents President Bush has chosen to fight his election.

The mayor of San Francisco, who interpreted the state law making it possible for gay and lesbian couples to enter into wedlock, did not realise that he was handing over a useful election tool into Bush’s hands. Consequently, the American public has been given an overdose of the pros and cons of gay and lesbian relationships, issues of morality, and the maintenance of the institution of the family as the basic unit of American public life.

Story continues below this ad

America stands a divided society today. One divided, interestingly enough, along religious and cultural lines. The Christian cultural conservatives who oppose homosexuality have lined up behind Bush, as opposed to the cultural liberals fighting his stance.

The cultural liberals are waiting for the Democrats to take a stand on the issue but, not surprisingly, electoral compulsions have forced the party to hedge on the issue. They support civil unions rather than marriage with its legal benefits so as not to alienate completely the traditional voters. Curiously, both the Republicans and the Democrats are one in opposing gay marriages. The only difference being that the former see it as a moral issue and the latter frame it as a civil rights issue.

Significantly, the ambivalence of the Democrats on critical gender issues that rubs on Christian beliefs and traditions reflects best the conservatism of the world’s biggest democracy. And this is indeed a gendered conservatism. Most TV clips of same sex married couples had lesbians rather than gay couples photographed taking their vows. The widely viewed late night David Letterman comedy show invariably makes digs at ‘lesbian honeymooners’ not touching the gay couples. And not surprisingly there are few who notice these conservatisms within conservatism.

The writer is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar, University of Texas