MEAN PEOPLE AND MARRIAGE: R.K. Becker replies to Bruce C. Steele

"Kids have an instinct for finding out what makes other kids different, and they use that knowledge as a weapon when they spar with their peers, whether playfully or angrily. As long as Clyde's dads can't get married, he'll always be more vulnerable to bullying than are his classmates."

Isn't it more likely that Clyde is being bullied because his dads are gay, not because they're unmarried?

Is there any evidence that the children of unmarried heterosexual parents are more vulnerable to bullying today than the children of married parents? I think it has been generations since the marital status of a child's parents has been a focus of ridicule among his peers. Indeed, if it is at all today, it is equally if not more likely that it is the other way around--that the children from broken homes or of unwed parents often resent those from seemingly 'idyllic' or 'perfect' families and bully them.

It is as likely if not more likely that SSM will make the bullying of the children of gay parents worse because it will simply advertise the fact of their parents' homosexuality, confirming to the other kids what in many instances was uncertain before.

Not that this is a good argument against SSM; it isn't, and shouldn't be used as such. But Steele's use of this movie to promote SSM is indicative of the extent to which its advocates are determined to use any argument, no matter how bad, to bolster the cause. The idea that SSM will magically cause all anti-gay prejudice to disappear is a pipe dream.

posted by Eve at 7:50 PM | link

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