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Gay Male Couples

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

  • 32 Accesses

Synonyms

Domestic partnerships; Gay civil union; Gay couples; Gay marriage; Gay partners; Same-sex couples

Introduction

Research helping us to understand gay male couples has surged since the 1990s. Much of this change could be attributed to the increasing acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and the recent push for legal recognition of same-sex unions that was realized in 2015. Up until 2015, a select few states allowed same-sex individuals to marry or create civil unions (a legal status affording same-sex couples rights similar to heterosexual marriages). The journey to the right to marriage has been a difficult one for same-sex couples. Oftentimes marriage is considered a symbol of legitimacy for one’s relationship in the eyes of the state and government. When the state and government views reflect those of the groups that see such legal rights as morally reprehensible or unnatural, couples have to combat the stigma that comes along with having a...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Kyle Schultz

Authors
  1. Kyle Schultz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kyle Schultz .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Jay L. Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Anthony L. Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Center for Applied Psychological and Family Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Illinois School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University, Schaumburg, IL, USA

    Mudita Rastogi

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Schultz, K. (2019). Gay Male Couples. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_499

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