Michael Warner Beyond Marriage Summary

Michael Warner makes a number of arguments in “Beyond Marriage.” Select three specific arguments to engage. You might agree with and support the arguments you select or disagree and refute them (or some combination thereof). Be sure that any counter-argument you offer is not already addressed and resolved in the chapter.

Before I start engaging in any of these arguments, I would just like to express my concern in talking about these issues from a straight person’s point of view. I had a very difficult time imagining the different types of gay/lesbian/queer responses described in the text as I was reading through it, especially after so many in-class discussions on what value an outsider’s point of view brings. Nevertheless, I will try to offer

It then continues to talk about the negative effects (specifically regulatory ones) that marriage has, such as sexual relationships outside of marriage. 2) is especially interesting because he does later mention the historic marriages that take place without paper (thus arguably without a “state” or at least official government approval), and therefore it is completely possible for this to be the case. While I do agree with many of the “aftereffects” of marriage he mentions, I find some parts too far fetched. Sexual relationship outside of marriages (especially in young people) fall under a much larger social debate of sex and age; some of these points are more related to the childhood/adulthood distinction we discussed previously. While marriage does follow and perhaps support the system (which he later addresses with the Coke/capitalism example), the problem does not seem to lie in marriage