Abstract
Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo consider the fact that the 9/11 era has witnessed two parallel happenings in relation to state and federal recognition of same-sex marriage. As a number of states passed amendments to their constitutions prohibiting the legal recognition of same-sex couples, Supreme Court decisions rendered them unconstitutional. Same-sex couples have been part of the public discourse on sexuality—a discourse that, at times, positioned these couples on a par with terrorist threats. The authors explain that different groups across the United States have construed same-sex marriage as a threat to American society. They examine public discourse around same-sex marriage, and develop a feminist analysis around same-sex couples within a society that has been trained to identify threats to the stability and security of the nation.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Works Cited
Bayles, Fred. 2004. Massachusetts to Allow Gay Marriage Today. USA Today, May 17. Retrieved August 11, 2017 from https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-05-17-gaymarriages-cover_x.htm.
Bloodsworth-Lugo, Mary K. and Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo. 2010. Containing (Un)American Bodies: Race, Sexuality, and Post-9/11 Constructions of Citizenship. New York: Brill/Rodopi.
Blue, Miranda. 2014. Janice Shaw Crouse: “Perhaps the Jihadists Are Right” About Weakness of The Pro-LGBT “Decadent West.” Right Wing Watch, Sept 23. Retrieved July 5, 2016 from http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/janice-shaw-crouse-perhaps-jihadists-are-right-about-weakness-pro-lgbt-decadent-west.
Brinkley, Alan. 2001. The illusion of unity in cold war culture. In Rethinking Cold War Culture, ed. Peter Kuznick, and James Gilbert. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Bush, Geroge. 2001a. Address to the Joint Session of the 107th Congress. Selected Speeches of President George W. Bush: 2001–2008. Retrieved Oct 27, 2016 from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/Selected_Speeches_George_W_Bush.pdf.
———. 2001b. The World Will Always Remember September 11. Selected Speeches of President George W. Bush: 2001–2008. Retrieved Oct 27, 2016 from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/Selected_Speeches_George_W_Bush.pdf.
———. 2002b. State of the Union Address to the 107th Congress. Selected Speeches of President George W. Bush: 2001–2008. https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/Selected_Speeches_George_W_Bush.pdf.
———. 2005. State of the Union Address to the 109th Congress. Selected Speeches of President George W. Bush: 2001–2008. Retrieved Oct 27, 2016 from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/Selected_Speeches_George_W_Bush.pdf.
———. 2006a. Address to American Legion National Convention: The Ideological Struggle of the 21st Century. Selected Speeches of President George W. Bush: 2001–2008. Retrieved Oct 27, 2016 from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/bushrecord/documents/Selected_Speeches_George_W_Bush.pdf.
Canaday, Margot. 2009. The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Cardona, Felisa. 2011. Shift in National Immigration Policy just in Time for Denver Woman Facing Deportation. The Denver Post, Aug 19. Retrieved Oct 27, 2016 from http://www.denverpost.com/2011/08/19/shift-in-national-immigration-policy-just-in-time-for-denver-woman-facing-deportation/.
Chernus, Ira. 2006. Monsters to Destroy: The Neoconservative War on Terror and Sin. Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
C-SPAN. 2004. State of the Union: President George W. Bush’s Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union. C-SPAN.org, January 20. Retrieved 8 Aug, 2017 from https://www.cspan.org/video/?179813-1/2004-state-union-address.
D’Emilio, John. 1992. Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University. New York: Routledge.
De Genova, Nicholas, and Natalie Peutz. 2010. The Deportation Regime: Sovereignty, Space, and the Freedom of Movement. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
De Hart, Jane. 2001. Gender, Sexuality, and National Identity in Cold War America. In Rethinking Cold War Culture, ed. Peter Kuznick and James Gilbert. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Democracy Now. 2008. Oklahoma State Rep: Gays Bigger Threat to U.S. Democracy Now, Mar 11. Retrieved 5 July, 2016 from http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/11/headlines#6.
Equality Matters. 2011. Tony Perkins Compares Gays and Lesbians to Terrorists. Equality Matters, April 29. Retrieved 11 August, 2017 from http://equalitymatters.org/blog/201104290008.
Erickson, Erick. 2015. The Terrorists Win. The Erick Erickson Show, Jan 7. Retrieved July 5, 2016 from http://www.erickontheradio.com/2015/01/the-terrorists-win/.
Gallup. 2016a. Iraq. Gallup.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/1633/iraq.aspx.
———. 2016b. Presidential Approval Ratings—George W. Bush. Gallup.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/116500/presidential-approval-ratings-george-bush.aspx.
Gates, Gary. 2013. LGBT Adult Immigrants in the U.S. The Williams Institute, Mar. Retrieved July 5, 2016 from http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/census-lgbt-demographics-studies/us-lgbt-immigrants-mar-2013/.
Hook, Janet. 2015. Support for Gay Marriage Hits All-Time High—Poll. The Wall Street Journal, Mar 9. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/03/09/support-for-gay-marriage-hits-all-time-high-wsjnbc-news-poll/.
Lofquist, Daphne and Renee Ellis. 2011. Comparison of Estimates of Same-Sex Couple Households form the ACS and the CPS. US Census Bureau. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.census.gov/hhes/samesex/files/Lofquist-Ellis_2011-PAA.pdf.
Margolin, Emma. 2014. LGBT Immigrants Protest against “Death Sentence” Deportations. MSNBC, Sept 10. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/lgbt-immigrants-protest-against-death-sentence-deportations.
Martínez, Michael. 2012. Gay Married Immigrant Fights Deportation in California. CNN, Mar 23. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/22/us/california-gay-deportation/.
McCarthy, Justin. 2016a. Americans’ Support for Gay Marriage Remains High, at 61%. Gallup.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/191645/americans-support-gay-marriage-remains-high.aspx?g_source=Politics&g_medium=newsfeed&g_campaign=tiles.
———. 2016b. Satisfaction with Acceptance of Gays in U.S. at New High. Gallup.com. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/188657/satisfaction-acceptance-gays-new-high.aspx?g_source=SAME_SEX_RELATIONS&g_medium=topic&g_campaign=tiles.
Mogul, Joey and Andrea Ritchie. 2012. Queer (In)Justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Morello, Carol. 2014. Census to Change the Way it Counts Gay Married Couples. The Washington Post, May 26. Retrieved 6 July from https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/census-to-change-the-way-it-counts-gay-married-couples/2014/05/26/e6c6edd0-e2a3-11e3-9743-bb9b59cde7b9_story.html .
Morris, David and Gary Langer. 2004. Poll: No Same-Sex Marriage, No Amendment. ABC News, January 21. Retrieved August 11 2017 from http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=90113&page=1.
Movement Advancement Project, Family Equality Council, and Center for American Progress. 2011. All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.lgbtmap.org/file/all-children-matter-full-report.pdf.
Moudy, Joanne. 2014. Armed and Dangerous: The Terrorism of the LGBT Radicals, Townhall, June 8. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://townhall.com/columnists/joannemoudy/2014/06/08/armed-dangerous-the-terrorism-of-the-lgbt-radicals-n1848920.
Mrozek, Donald. 1980. The Cult and Ritual of Toughness in Cold War America. In Rituals and Ceremonies in Popular Culture, ed. Ray B. Browne. Bowling Green, OH: Green University Popular Press.
Newport. 2004. Americans Equally Divided on Constitutional Marriage Amendment. Gallup.com, Feb 11. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.gallup.com/poll/10585/Americans-Evenly-Divided-Constitutional-Marriage-Amendment.aspx?g_source=Marriage%20Constitutional%20amendment&g_medium=search&g_campaign=tiles.
Robertson, Campbell. 2016. Roy Moore, Alabama Judge Suspended over Gay Marriage Stance. The New York Times, May 6. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/07/us/judge-roy-moore-alabama-same-sex-marriage.html.
Swanson, Emily. 2015. Five Things to Know About Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage. Associated Press, June 24. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.salon.com/2015/06/24/5_things_to_know_about_public_opinion_on_same_sex_marriage/.
Tashman, Brian. 2014. Pat Robertson: Gay Rights Advocates are “Terrorists, Radicals and Extremists.” Right Wing Watch, Oct 22. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content-pat-robertson-gay-rights-advocates-are-terrorists-radicals-and-extremists Retrieved 6 July 2016.
———. 2015. Mike Huckabee Pledges to Block Same-Sex Marriage If Elected President. LGBTQ Nation.com, June 24. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2015/06/mike-huckabee-pledges-to-block-same-sex-marriage-if-elected-president/.
Wallis, Daniel. 2015. Texas Attorney General Says County Clerks Can Refuse Gay Couples. Reuters, June 29. Retrieved July 6, 2016 from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-gaymarriage-texas-idUSKCN0P900F20150629.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bloodsworth-Lugo, M.K., Lugo-Lugo, C.R. (2017). Sexual(ized) Terrorist Threats in an Age of Marriage Equality. In: Feminism after 9/11. Breaking Feminist Waves. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54582-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54582-4_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54869-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54582-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)