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台灣人權學刊-第5卷第1期-05-1-李柏翰.pdf (1.86 MB)

The struggle for marriage equality and intimate citizenship: a field occupied by multiple hegemonic discourses

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-13, 14:17 authored by Po-Han Lee
On 24 May 2017, the ROC Constitutional Court issued the J.Y. Interpretation No. 748, declaring part of Taiwan’s Civil Code, which prohibits same-sex marriage, unconstitutional. Suddenly, it seems that the marriage equality campaign has won and the decades-long tongzhi social movement is close to a conclusion: from demedicalisation, normalisation, anti-discrimination, to constitutional recognition of homosexual intimate citizenship. Starting with the Same-Sex Marriage case in question, this article considers what have made the equalisation of same-sex partnership possible and/or impossible in Taiwan, by critically analysing the contexts and contents of the Court’s decision, which potentially reinforced heterosexism. Thus, I propose to understand the process and outcome of Pro-Family Referendums from an agonistic perspective, arguing that, in this light, any attempt to ‘essentialise’ marriage/family and Taiwaneseness would harm Taiwan’s democracy. Through representing a pluralistic picture of ‘marriage equality’, this article also demonstrates that the struggle for intimate citizenship is located in a field in which multiple hegemonic discourses (e.g. legal, medical, political, cultural) coexist and compete with each other for authority. In this respect, our agency and reflexivity, as right advocates as well as tongzhi members, is an ethical question in that struggle.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Taiwan Human Rights Journal

ISSN

2224-6622

Publisher

Chang Fo-chuan Center for the Study of Human Rights

Issue

1

Volume

5

Page range

173-186

Department affiliated with

  • Sociology and Criminology Publications

Research groups affiliated with

  • Sussex Centre for Human Rights Research Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2019-03-01

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2019-07-15

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2019-02-27

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