In thinking recently about how partnerships and marriages are changing, I was reminded of a great piece by Sally Kohn, written this past summer in the wake of Judge Vaughn Walker’s ruling declaring Proposition 8 unconstitutional.  Kohn argues that while expanding the privileged category of marriage may be a step in the right direction, without formally redefining state marriage and extending all the rights and privileges of marriage to all family forms, it still leaves antiquated notions of family very much intact.

As Kohn reminds us, Judge Walker’s ruling wasn’t simply a victory for the LGBT community; it also forced us to broaden our thinking about the institution of marriage and what it stands for. As Judge Walker wrote, “The evidence shows that the movement of marriage away from a gendered institution and toward an institution free from state-mandated gender roles reflects an evolution in the understanding of gender rather than a change in marriage.”

Amen. 

Says Kohn: “The idea that traditional marriage is between one traditional man and one traditional woman, each playing traditional roles, was extinct in most American households long before talk of gay marriage entered the scene. In an era of working moms and metrosexual men, the idea of marriage as a one-size-fits-all straight jacket (pun intended) is plainly outdated. Married straight men everywhere who have cooked breakfast or changed a diaper, married women nationwide who have worn pants or (gulp!) been able to maintain their own finances should applaud Justice Walker’s ruling, too.”

Read the full post here.

-Nicole