Queering Same-Sex Marriage: Gay Determinism, Queer Choice and the Determination to Love

18 Pages Posted: 16 Feb 2015

See all articles by Donald Sullins

Donald Sullins

The Catholic University of America; The Ruth Institute

Date Written: December 11, 2006

Abstract

At the heart of the debate on same-sex marriage is the question whether the restriction of marriage to opposite-sex partners is irrational or unfair to homosexual persons on the ground that homosexuality is genetically determined or innate. In this presentation I respond to this argument in two ways. First, I want to speak to the sociological plausibility of the claim that homosexuality is genetically determined. This presents an alternative scientific perspective to the biological research which undercuts, and in some ways helps us to understand, the biological claims for homosexuality. Second, I want to address the main rhetorical argument, and for many the most persuasive evidence, that homosexuality is determined, that is, the narrative reports of gay persons who have personally experienced or discovered their same-sex attraction to be innate and irresistible.

Keywords: same-sex, marriage, homosexuality, genetic trait, social construction

JEL Classification: J12, J18

Suggested Citation

Sullins, Donald, Queering Same-Sex Marriage: Gay Determinism, Queer Choice and the Determination to Love (December 11, 2006). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2565149 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2565149

Donald Sullins (Contact Author)

The Catholic University of America ( email )

116 McMahon Hall
Washington, DC 20064
United States

The Ruth Institute ( email )

4845 Lake Street
Suite 217
Lake Charles, LA 70605
United States

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