Homosexual

This article was downloaded by: [189.227.111.25] On: 24 February 2013, At: 11:16 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Homosexuality
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wjhm20

Marriage and the Homosexual Body: It's About Race
Deirdre Keenan PhD
a a

Department of English, Carroll University, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA Version of record first published: 26 Oct 2012.

To cite this article: Deirdre Keenan PhD (2012): Marriage and the Homosexual Body: It's About Race, Journal of Homosexuality, 59:9, 1230-1258 To link to this article:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2012.720503

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Thepublisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arisingdirectly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

Journal of Homosexuality, 59:1230–1258, 2012 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0091-8369 print/1540-3602 online DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2012.720503

Marriage and the Homosexual Body: It’s About Race
DEIRDRE KEENAN, PhD
Department of English, Carroll University, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USADownloaded by [189.227.111.25] at 11:16 24 February 2013

Any analogy between race and homosexuality cannot erase the fact that skin color has marked and continues to mark bodies for special punishment and necessary protection. Yet, the analogy has also been forged in the struggles against sexual discrimination and in the courts to recognize same-sex marriage as a basic civil right. My purposes here are,first, to review the role the race-sexual orientation analogy has played in same-sex marriage debates, second to examine the analogy within the context of race and queer theories and, finally, to suggest a racial dimension to sexuality that marks the homosexual body. KEYWORDS same-sex marriage, homosexuality, race

INTRODUCTION
I begin with three premises regarding my title: First, any analogybetween race and homosexuality cannot erase the particular historical and on-going atrocities and discriminations based on race and skin color—as African Americans, Asian Americans, American Indians, and Latino-Americans (most recently in light of Arizona, Utah, and Georgia legislation) and non-European immigrants can attest. My argument does not dismiss the fact that skin color has marked andcontinues to mark bodies for special punishment and necessary protection in the context of White supremacy and the privilege of Whiteness. Second, the analogy between race and homosexuality in the struggle for same-sex marriage has been forged in the struggles against discrimination and in the courts, long before the U.S. Supreme Court decision
An earlier, shorter version of this article waspresented on March 25, 2011 at the Wisconsin Women’s Studies and LGBTQ Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Address correspondence to Deirdre Keenan, Carroll University, 100 N. East Ave. Waukesha 53186, WI, USA. E-mail: dkeenan@carrollu.edu 1230

Marriage and the Homosexual Body: It’s About Race

1231

in Loving v. Virginia (1967) found marriage to be “a basic civil right.” Third, the analogy...