Migrating Marriage Equality without Feminism: Obergefell v. Hodges and the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage in Taiwan

Abstract

In 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court issued a decision ruling the same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. Celebrated as a victory for marriage equality readying Taiwan to become “the first in Asia” to legalize same-sex marriage, the decision’s reasoning demonstrated a remarkable resemblance to Obergefell v. Hodges, in that they both embrace formal equality, endorse marital supremacy, and render feminist critique of marriage irrelevant or insignificant. Through an investigation of social movement dynamics and constitutional politics, this article explores the hidden histories of marriage equality and the rise of marital supremacy, revealing how marriage equality has served as a site of contestation where various visions of equality compete and where legal orientalism is enacted as well as resisted. It argues that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court decision and the marriage equality movement demonstrate a case of migrating marriage equality without feminism, presenting challenges for transnational feminism in terms of its absence.

Keywords: same-sex marriage, marriage equality, feminism, substantive equality, heterosexuality, international human rights, legal orientalism, Taiwan, East Asia