Do Her Own When She’s Over Fifty:The Marriage Experience and Sexuality Practice of Three Middle-to-Old Lesbians
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Huang, Jing-Wun
Abstract
In this thesis, by oral life history interviewing and participant observation to three middle-to-old lesbians who have marriage experience, I want to study the progress and experience that middle-to-old lesbians stepped into the heterosexual marriage and how they responded to the love toward women and the rule came from heterosexual marriage. Furthermore, I want to discuss how they face up to become older.
Because these three middle-to-old lesbians were born in martial law era, they had no freedom of speech and consequently had no idea about “gay” or “lesbian”. In their marriageable age, 1980s, homosexuality is stigmatized. At that time, gay were invisible for people, and even gay were blind to each other. In this situation, marriage is not only an option but a necessity. To be a mother and a wife under Chinese culture, they have to sacrifice work for family; however owing to their middle class position, the gender inequality which between she and her husband has decreased. Besides, they had ever worked hard for their marriage, but failed repeatedly, then they discovered that what they eager for is the love between the same sex. Pass through the society revolution in 90s, they recognized another lesbian organization and its publication different from the T-bar culture; hence, they got more opportunities to develop their love toward women. Accompanied by digital era, they started to learn computer techniques corresponding to job requirement; in addition to know others in rising lesbian social networks. In additional, as far as middle-to-old lesbian''s concerned, aging does not equal to lose. They can gradually disburden the responsibility of taking care of families as their children are growing up; therefore, they have much more free time to seek the life they want. The life practice makes they possess more wisdom to understand how to manage the relationship with her same-sex partner. Under the promise of promoting health, they honestly face to the physical aging and discuss a variety of health-preserving methods and mental growth. They also have practice of diverse forms of partnership.
On the basis of this thesis, I suggest that people should face up to gay civil rights. In the process of education, it should provide more clear and equal recognition with the issue of same-sex couple and multi-dimensional family, and boost the legalization of same-sex marriage or civil pact of solidarity in order to cope with the demands of citizen and the rise of multi-dimensional family. In the future,when government plan about elderly welfare policy, the requirement of gay and lesbian citizens should be taken into account.
Subjects
middle-to-old aged
lesbian
marriage
aging
life history
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