The Meaning of Marriage to Same-Sex Families: Formal Partnership, Parenthood, Gender, and the Welfare State in International Perspective

Abstract

Lesbian and gay male couples formalize romantic partnerships at different rates. These rates differ differently depending on national context, with female partnerships exceeding male partnerships in U.S. contexts, while gay male partnerships exceed lesbian partnerships in some European contexts, and rough parity is reached in Canada. Through a cross-national analysis of welfare regimes, partnership forms, and patterns of formal same-sex partnership in eight nations and three U.S. states over time, we explain these gendered differences in formal partnership rates. We conclude that forms of relationship recognition interact with parental rights, either to facilitate or impede the achievement of social and legal parental ties between same-sex couples and their children. As formal partnership forms for same-sex couples change over time, their relative appeal to male and female couples changes as well.