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New Boston Marriages : News Representations, Respectability, and the Politics of Same-Sex Marriage

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New Boston Marriages : News Representations, Respectability, and the Politics of Same-Sex Marriage New Boston marriages : news representations, respectability, and the politics of same-sex marriage Author: Jeffrey A. Langstraat Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1351 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2009 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Boston College The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Department of Sociology NEW BOSTON MARRIAGES: NEWS REPRESENTATIONS, RESPECTABILITY, AND THE POLITICS OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE a dissertation by JEFFREY A. LANGSTRAAT Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May, 2009 © copyright by JEFFREY ALAN LANGSTRAAT 2009 ABSTRACT In 2006, Mariane Valverde announced the birth of what she called, “a new type in the history of sexuality” (155), the Respectable Same-Sex Couple. This work analyzes newspaper coverage of same-sex couples during the Massachusetts campaign for marriage equality to explore the content of and contours around that new socio-sexual category. The processes involved in the incorporation of lesbians and gay men into the governing relations of American society are used to explain the development of this type, and its replacement of the pathological Homosexual. The manufacture of respectability by movement activists is explored via the selection of “public face couples” as a framing strategy that links the lives of these couples to marriage itself and the hardships they suffer due to their inability to marry. The respectability of these couples and their incorporation as economic citizens is also linked to representations of professional status, upward mobility, economic success, and the creation of identity-based markets through entrepreneurial and consumptive practices. Boundaries around this respectability are evident in stories of failure, either to remain together as couples or to act in accordance with marital normative standards, while the boundaries between Heterosexuality and Homosexuality, and among and between same-sex and different-sex couples, are also being re-drawn as marriage becomes available. The broader historical transformation of lesbian and gay life is discusses in the development of new life-scripts becoming available. While these transformations have led to greater possibilities for the living of gay and lesbian lives, the absorption of these lives into governing relations also erases and expels other queer life practices and reinforces other forms of social inequality and injustice. i CONTENTS List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………...ii Acknowledgments…………...…………………………………………………………...iii Introduction: Social Typification and Sexual Citizenship…………………………...……1 1. The Birth of Homosexuality and the Rise of Heterosexual Domination……………...25 2. Incorporating Lesbians and Gay Men as Normal Citizens……………………............54 3. Putting on a Public Face………………………………………………………………93 4. The Productive Pair as Consuming Couple………………………………………….130 5. Shifting Boundaries…………………………………………………………….........168 6. From the Closet to the Chapel……………………………………………………….206 7. What Price Respectability……………………………………………………………238 APPENDICES A. Methods of Inquiry…………………………………………………………………..268 B. Codebook……………………………………………………………………...…….289 C. Sample Article……………………………………………………………………….295 WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………..296 ii List of Tables 3.1 Articles in Boston newspapers that contain same-sex couples………………………98 3.2 Public face couples and total couple representations by source……………………103 A1 Non-Boston newspapers.…………………………………………………………...272 A2 Article Census………………………………………………………………………279 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It has become both cliché and truism that even the most individual of practices is inherently social. Such is the case with writing a dissertation. The number of mornings I resisted getting out of bed, and instead lay there twitching with nervous energy, are innumerable, and rarely have I felt so alone. However, it is also the support—and occasional butt-kicking—of a number of people who kept me writing even when I wanted to just give up. First of all, I’d like to thank my committee, the folks whose signatures appear on this document. I think they often had more faith in my ability to produce this work than I did. I know there were times that I thought this would never be completed, and I’m sure a few of them shared that concern. However, they never expressed such a sentiment to me, and were supportive of me in the various themes and forms this work took. Bill Gamson’s patience and constant support was invaluable, particularly considering the sense of intimidation I had when first coming to Boston College and weakly presenting him with my masters thesis and asking if he’d be willing to read it. Leslie Salzinger provided a bit more of the occasionally needed butt-kicking, especially when it came to applying for the departmental dissertation fellowship, which I had come very close to writing off even applying for. Sarah Sobieraj came onto the project rather late, but was always a pleasure to see, and to chat with, while I was teaching at Tufts. (She also gave me several ideas for Mass Media classes that I subsequently taught and hope to continue using in my teaching career.) Charlotte Ryan and Eve Spangler deserve special thanks. These two committee members, in particular, spent a number of meals with me, chatting about this project, iv about my career, and about life. The chats we had over emails and, more importantly, over meals were invaluable in getting me through this process. I will still dispute some of the compliments they may have given me—the upper Midwesterner in me dies hard— but their support, friendship, and caring gave me a sense that the completion of this project was possible in ways that I didn’t always see. Char and Eve’s friendship meant more than I can express. I want to give the Department of Sociology, as a whole, and the committee responsible for approving my proposal a strong note of thanks for the awarding me a dissertation fellowship for the 2006-2007 academic year. Their vote of confidence was particularly nice to have. Beyond that, however, it was also reassuring to have a project such as this receive such an endorsement at an institution that is not always receptive to the inclusion of gay men and lesbians as full members, or to the prospect of gay and lesbian equality that is at the heart of this study. This work occurred during a period when the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church was attempting to increase its influence over Catholic universities, and when Boston College itself took actions, like canceling a student-sponsored dance, that were exclusionary toward gay and lesbian students. The vote of confidence and support from the Department, and from the Graduate College of Arts and Sciences, provided a sense of security in what has often been an uncomfortable, and occasionally unwelcoming, institutional setting. The Movement/Media Research Action Project at Boston College was a productive site of intellectual support. I was able to play with versions of this piece, and work on a variety of other topics. This was especially true early in the process. I am grateful for their indulgence and support. v My friends have also been amazingly supportive, and I wouldn’t have gotten through this experience without them I probably wouldn’t have maintained any sense of sanity or self during this process. I know I will likely forget some people, but I would especially like to thank the following people: Matt Gregory for the evenings of pool and beer, as well as chats in our shared and/or separate offices at Tufts; Suzanne Risley, and Don Branson, and Melissa Anyiwo and Kathy Morrison for our evenings/weekends of just saying “Fuck it!” with dinner and drinks and television; and Charon Sattler, Lisa Clark, Paul Cook, and Joann Quinones for telephone calls, email, and text messaging to chat about the dissertation or life in general. Although I am critical of the movement for equal marriage rights, I also feel like I owe them a debt of gratitude. While I am not overly fond of many of the mainstreaming activities in which they engage, I must also recognize that, as a part of the larger history of gay and lesbian movement activity, they have expanded the opportunities for many lesbians and gay men, and bisexual and transgender people, to live their lives openly. Indeed, in my pre-academic life I was an organizer within this movement in Minnesota, so I recognize the difficult balancing act that many of these activists are engaging in. While I may often disagree with strategies or goals, I also recognize the work that we all share in changing American society to become more accepting and welcoming of sexual minorities. Finally, I want to thank my family. My aunts, Ruth Langstraat and Roxanne WhiteLight, appear in the dissertation. It was their wedding in Vancouver, BC that I attended and write about, and their constant, “we’re so proud of you” was a little embarrassing while simultaneously providing an incentive to finish. But, it is my parents vi to whom I owe the greatest debt. Their love and support, and coaxing, got me to the point where I could write this work, and kept me going on it. The multiple phone calls during Vikings or Twins games, the shipments of bratwurst, and the ongoing updates about pets all kept me grounded and sane. I wouldn’t be here without them, and I am eternally grateful for their love and support. 1 Introduction The New Bostonians:
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