September 29, 2012
Progress in Marriage Equality
I have three mothers.
My parents divorced when I was seven years old, and now, several years later, both my mom and dad are engaged to lovely women. They aren’t officially my moms- they’re not even officially stepmothers yet- but they feed me and care for me and love me all the same. Eventually- within the next year or two- they will ‘officially’ be my stepmothers.
Er, one of them will be.
The other one will be my stepmother in Massachusetts. In Texas, my home state, she will be my mother’s girlfriend, or partner, or, to the delicate homophobes, my mom’s ‘roommate’.
Taken at Austin’s Pride Parade on September 22nd
Growing up in Texas, it’s been very hard to be a part of such an unconventional family. I, as well as my mom and her fiance, have often wished we could move to a place more tolerant, more open and accepting- New York perhaps, or Boston or Iowa. After moving to Austin this summer, I’ve realized how much more accepting it is compared to my small, conservative hometown- I’ve joined my school’s Queer-Straight Alliance, and I attended my first Pride Parade last Saturday- but the truth of the matter is that my mom still can’t marry the woman she’s in love with, despite our city being as weird and as queer and as wonderful as it is.
Last Thursday, Austin made history by becoming the first Texan city to endorse marriage equality (you can read about it here). I’m thrilled, but I’m also sad. Sad that Austin is the only city to do this. Sad that this is even necessary. Sad that my mother still can’t marry the woman she loves, despite the progress. I guess the thing about progress is that it’s slow. It’s really, really slow, and sometimes that’s hard to handle. I’d like marriage equality to be a firework, something that shoots into the sky at a high speed and brings sparks and loud noises and bright colors (the colors of the rainbow, of course) along with it, but it’s not- it’s a baby taking its first few steps, and it may take decades for it to reach its goal.
But it will get there. Isn’t Austin proof of that?
Keep your head up, and remember Harry Potter- remember the inferior treatment of muggle born wizards, remember ‘mudblood’, remember the fact that, in the end, Harry triumphed over Voldemort in the same way that we will triumph over homophobia and inequality.
Emily R
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What an amazing story. Thanks for sharing, Elizabeth!