Abstract
Headlines do not always mislead. They can sometimes tell some new truths, or at least tell stories in new and revealing ways. Consider one from the London Evening Standard (26 March 1997): ‘Happy Families, 1997’. Over a cheerful picture of a pleasant-looking couple sitting on the grass, ‘with their dog Zeb’, the article discusses ‘the modern face of parenting in London’. The couple are clearly deeply committed, ‘partners of 22 years’, and fairly affluent, living in a large house in a comfortable, quiet suburb of North London. One is a university lecturer, the other a theology student — clearly ideal parents. The only jarring note is the sub-head: ‘These two men are gay and see nothing wrong with being foster parents.’
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bauman, Z. (1993) Postmodern Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell).
Beck, U. and Beck-Gernsheim, E. (1995) The Normal Chaos of Love (Cambridge: Polity).
Bech, H. (1997) When Men Meet: Homosexuality and Modernity (Cambridge: Polity).
Bell, A. P. and Weinberg, M. S. (1978) Homosexualities: A Study of Diversity among Men and Women (London: Mitchell Beazley).
Blasius, M. (1994) Gay and Lesbian Politics: Sexuality and the Emergence of a New Ethic (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press).
Blumstein, P. and Schwartz, P. (1983) American Couples (New York: William Morrow).
Driggs, J. H. and Finn, S. E. (1991) Intimacy Between Men: How to Find and Keep Gay Love Relationships (London: Plume).
Dunne, G. (1997) Lesbian Lifestyles: Women’s Work and the Politics of Sexuality (London: Macmillan).
Finch, J. and Mason, J. (1993) Negotiating Family Responsibilities (London: Routledge).
Giddens, A. (1992) The Transformation of Intimacy (Cambridge: Polity).
Giddens, A. (1994) Beyond Left and Right: The Future of Radical Politics (Cambridge: Polity).
Harry, J. and DeVall, W. B. (1978) The Social Organization of Gay Males (New York: Praeger).
Heaphy, B., Donovan, C. and Weeks, J. (1998) ‘“That’s like my life”: Researching Stories of Non-Heterosexual Relationships’, in Sexualities 1(4), 453–70.
Jamieson, L. (1998) Intimacy: Personal Relationships in Modern Societies (Cambridge: Polity).
Johnson, S. E. (1990) Staying Power: Long-Term Lesbian Couples (FL: Naiad Press).
Laner, M. R. (1977) ‘Permanent Partner Priorities: Gay and Straight’, Journal of Homosexuality, 3(1), pp. 21–40.
Marcus, E. (1992) The Male Couples’ Guide: Finding a Man, Making a Home, Building a Life (New York: Harper Perennial).
McWhirter, D. and Mattison, A. M. (1984) The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall).
Mason, J. (1996) ‘Gender, Care and Sensibility in Family and Kin Relationships’, in J. Holland and L. Adkins (eds), Sex, Sensibility and the Gendered Body (London: Macmillan).
Plummer, K. (1995) Telling Sexual Stories: Power, Change, and Social Worlds (London: Routledge).
Saffron, L. (1994) Alternative Beginnings (London: Cassell).
Silverstein, C. (1981) Man to Man: Gay Couples in America (New York: Morrow).
Sullivan, A. (1995) Virtually Normal: An Argument about Homosexuality (London: Picador).
Sullivan, A. (ed.) (1997) Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con — A Reader (New York: Vintage Books).
Tanner, D. M. (1978) The Lesbian Couple (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books).
Uhrig, L. J. (1984) The Two of Us: Affirming, Celebrating and Symbolising Lesbian and Gay Relationships (Boston, MA: Alyson Publications).
Weeks, J. (1995) Invented Moralities: Sexual Values in an Age of Uncertainty (Cambridge: Polity).
Weeks, J., Donovan, C. and Heaphy, B. (1996) ‘Families of Choice: Patterns of Non-Heterosexual Relationships — A Literature Review’, Social Science Research Papers No. 2, South Bank University.
Weeks, J., Donovan, C. and Heaphy, B. (1999) ‘Everyday Experiments: Narratives of Non-Heterosexual Relationships’, in E. Silva and C. Smart (eds), The ‘New Family’? (London: Sage).
Weeks, J. and Porter, K. (1998) Between the Acts: Lives of Homosexual Men, 1885–1967 (London: Rivers Oram Press).
Weston, K. (1991) Families We Choose (New York: Columbia University Press).
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 1999 British Sociological Association
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Weeks, J., Heaphy, B., Donovan, C. (1999). Partnership Rites: Commitment and Ritual in Non-Heterosexual Relationships. In: Seymour, J., Bagguley, P. (eds) Relating Intimacies. Explorations in Sociology. British Sociological Association Conference Volume Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27683-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-27683-7_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-74764-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-27683-7
eBook Packages: Palgrave Social & Cultural Studies CollectionSocial Sciences (R0)