SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN CANADA AND THE THElORY OF POLITICAL-CULTURAL FORMATION Susan Grove B. A., Simon Fraser University, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology O Susan Grove 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Susan Grove Degree: Master of Arts Title of Thesis: Same-Sex Marriage in Canada and the Theory of Political-Cultural Formation Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Dara Culhane Dr. Gerardo Otero Senior Supervisor Professor of Sociology Simon Fraser University Dr,,Dany Lacombe Member Associate Professor of Sociology Simon Fraser University Dr. Ian Angus External Examiner Professor of Humanities Simon Fraser University Date DefemdedlApproved: 22 March 2006 SIMON FRASER UN~VERS~W~ibra ry DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep cr make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection, and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada SIMON FRASER u~~vmsrnlibra ry STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Cart? Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, in a research project approved in advance, (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics. A copy of the approval letter has been filed at the Theses Office of the University Library at the time of submission of this thesis or project. The original application for approval and letter of approval are filed with the relevant offices. Inquiries may be directed to those authorities. Bennett Library Simon Fraser University Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT On July 20,2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world to give same- sex couples the legal right to marry. This thesis analyzes the mobilization that contributed to the historic event while assessing several social movement perspectives. It adopts the political-cultural-formation (PCF) perspective, which attempts to explain how civil society becomes consolidated vis-&-visthe state based on organizations of subordinate groups, communities, and classes. The lesbian and gay rights movement 11soften analyzed from the social movement perspective of resource mobilization theory, political opportunity structure, and new social movements, which each focus on important but partial dimensions. PCF was chosen because, by itself, it addresses cultural issues, state intervention, and organizational leadership that mediate betweein economic-structural processes anld political-cultural formation outcomes. Beyond describing and explaining the movement at hand, this thesis argues PCF provides a more comprehensive framework by answering questions that the other theories, by themselves, leave unanswered. Key Words: social movements Canada, social movement theory, lesbian and gay rights Canada, same- sex marriage Canada for mom and dad; instilid agood work ethic and for Bay, whalways &w I couGf do it! ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am deeply indebted to tlhe following individuals for taking the time to share their experiences and to patiently develop my understanding of the complexities associated with achieving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Canada: Laurie Arron, Dr. Janet Buckingham, Evangeline Caldwell, Manny Calisto, James Chamberlain, Richard Chambers, Tanya Chambers, Claude CGtC, Joe Courtney, barbara findlay, Hedy Fry, Bob Gallagher, Reverend Brent Hawkes, Eldon Hay, Craig Maynard, Rabbi David Mivasair, Pat 07Brien,Michelle Ritchot, Melinda Roy, Jean-Marie Russell, Mary-Woo Sirns, Brad Tyler-West, Kay Williams, and a human rights organization that is unnamed. Supervising graduate students is an act of immense generosity and an unselfish commitment to developing new scholars. In my graduate studies I am grateful to my senior supervisor, Gerardo Otero, for his excellent direction and constant support and to my second supervisor, Dany Lacombe, for her thoughtful comments and suggestions on my work. Finally, I thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the scholarship that allowed me to focus on the tasks at hand. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval ............................................................................................................................11 ... Abstract .............................................................................................................................. 111 Dedication .........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures and Tables ...............................................................................................vlll... Acronyms ...........................................................................................................................ix Chapter 1 .Contextualizing the Research .......................................................................1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ................... ., ......................................................................................... 6 The Theory of Political-Cultural Formation ..................................................................... 9 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 15 Research Limitations ................................................................................................... 20 Chapter 2 .The Path to Same-Sex Marriage in Canada ............................................22 Activism from 1970 to 2000 .......................................................................................... 22 Fighting for Relationship Recognition and Marriage ..................................................... 26 The Same-Sex Marriage Cases ....................................................................................... 34 From a Legal to a Political Forum ................................................................................ -37 How Wide-Spread is Same-Sex Marriage? .................................................................... 39 Chapter 3 .Forming Lesbian and Gay Political-Cultural Subjects ...........................42 Research Findings .......................................................................................................... 43 Egale Canada: a National Organization for Lesbian. Gay. Bisexual. and Trans-Identified (LGBT) People ............................................................... 44 Canadians for Equal Marriage: A Single-Issue Organization .................................... 46 Why Same-Sex Marriage? .......................................................................................... 48 Do Legal Rights Create Social Change? .................................................................... 51 The Couples: Ordinary Canadians? ............................................................................ 53 Supporters of Equality. Fairness. and Respect ........................................................... 54 Opposing Viewpoints ................................................................................................. 58 Repertoires of Collective Action ...............................................................................