‘By partner we mean ...’: Alternative geographies of ‘gay marriage’

Abstract

This article argues that in the context of debates regarding same sex marriage, too little attention has been paid to geographic specificity that not only reconstitutes sexualities but also remakes these in relation to material classed relations. In contrast to arguments that appear to transcend spatial differentiation, I will examine the differential effects of the Civil Partnership Act, particularly for those on state-based benefits. Using data collected from local government websites, I will argue that the implications for those who are now understood as ‘new couples’ vary according to local government district. ‘Acceptance’ of same sex relationships effects same sex couples in geographically diverse ways, with classed dimensions. Thus, the class and place-based benefits of sexual ‘equalities’ question the ubiquitous deployment of hetero/homonormativity to understand the ‘new landscapes of equality’. The article then goes on to focus on the city of Brighton and Hove to explore classed ‘choice’, exclusions and materialities. Arguing that the ‘queer unwanted’ may have no choice but to be unwantedly queer, the article looks at how ‘couples’ come into being through sanitized definitions that include shared accommodation, responsibility for children and future plans. Attention to the intersection of class and sexuality casts light on whose ‘choices’ are (dis)allowed in changing legal contexts, important when evaluating the differential effects of ‘new equalities’.