Unraveling Heteronormativity inside Colombian Family Law: Juridical Perspectives on the Economic Differences between Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Couple Relationships

Abstract

This research paper analyzes the sufficiency of the economic implications of couples’ relationships regulation for same-sex couples after both marriage and unmarried cohabitation laws were judicially extended on these family forms in Colombia. I start describing the existing regimes for these marital relationships in Colombian law and how heterosexuality and economic dependence are embedded inside the regulations’ origins and current developments. Then, I identify the categories that show slight differences between same-sex and opposite-sex couples like the likelihood of having children and its impact on caregiving distribution, the domestic tasks allocation and the existing gender differences in access to the labor market and the income disparity. Based on these differing features and a theoretical framework that warns about sameness discourses that obscure the differences between gay, lesbian, and straight families, I critically analyze some empirical studies conducted in Colombia that reveal existing differences between heterosexual and homosexual households. This analysis invites future research to gather the absent data in Colombia concerning same-sex families to bring proposals of legal interpretation and law reform that are better equipped for all family forms.