No, this will not be a post about spring break. I know many of you are busy planning your getaway, but I will not be talking about spring break / reading week.
Instead, I want to talk about how marriage legitimizes you as a person.
What? Come again?
Yes, because I do feel this way. As I read the news today about the US Supreme Court and their decision to hear the case of same sex marriage, I can't help but to think about it and write about it.
Ever since I got married 2 weeks ago, I realize that I feel different. I don't necessarily look better in any way, but I feel more confident, precisely, more LEGITIMATE.
The sense of legitimacy comes from the fact that I now, in the eyes of my peers, friends, society, am a person with a known status. I no longer need to qualify / describe my relationship with Chris as the boyfriend, significant other or partner.
You all know that awkwardness you get when you introduce that person as your boyfriend, significant other or partner. The underlying message is that this relationship - no matter how loving or how stable it has been for the past 20 years - is not recognized or acceptable because you are not "married".
With marriage, you almost immediately have a legitimate claim to....well, your existence, your way of life, or just life itself!
I never thought that I, as an educated and modern woman, would ever feel this way and yet, I do. I never thought that marriage would legitimize my sense of existence and my sense of self the way that it has. Never.
So, when people say "Marriage is the best thing that has happened to me". I believe them. NOW, I believe them.
For me, marriage is legitimization. If it can have this effect on me, then I am sure it can have the same effect on many many others out there.
And to think that this - this process of legitimization - is not available to everyone....just the thought of that.....is *shakes my head* u-n-b-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e.
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