Matt pointed me to this
article in the Washington Post describing the “sanitized” gay-rights
movement. Apparently a number of left-wing drama queens who fought for
“gay liberation” are watching in horror as a generation of “Hallmark
Cards” activists take over the movement. The writer (Michael Powell)
portrays the movement as undergoing the usual evolution from liberation
to assimilation that the labor and black civil-rights movements have
also undergone.
It’s an interesting observation, and I think it’s worth looking at the
equation of “middle class” values with what’s essentially the
commercialism of weddings. Marriage isn’t merely the right to “slip
into wedding gowns” and “toss the bouquet,” and yet in much of the
recent media coverage on the topic, the right to marry means the right
to spend an enormous sum of money on frivolous wedding accoutrements
(which, of course, gay couples could have done with or without the
Massachusetts SJC). As one of the subjects of Powell’s article
complains, “Our movement has become about lusting for weddings and lavender picket fences.”
On
the bright side, however, is the fact that now that the wedding
business realizes that “gay liberation” translates into a larger
customer base, a powerful industry will be aligned with expanding gay
rights. And in this era of politics, it’s good to have some money as
well as justice on your side.
