Sociologists address a family as a social institution, which gets affected by several changes in the society (Giddens, 2006). In the current days, life has become difficult for many individuals across the world. Things have changed and are no longer the same as they were in the past like fifty or so years. Today almost all families in the world face difficult situations, which may take several days, weeks, months or even years before a viable solution is found. Individual families across the world, including the same-sex married couples, for instance, gay marriages, face serious daily challenges such as changes in the economy, education, religion, the government and law (Graybill & Proctor, 2016). These changes bring more adverse effects to such families, hardening the lives of their individual members in a manner that they may never live to appreciate life and enjoy fully the way it should be. In this paper, therefore, we get to focus on how changes in economy, religion, government, law and education affect same-sex-married couples particularly the gay marriages.
Changes in Economy
Variations in the economy act as the primary source of stress in a gay marriage due to various things like the loss of jobs and/or the attraction of increasingly low wages on the part of either one of the gay couple involved or of both. This together with other stressors such as arguments for money and addictions to either gambling, shopping, overeating, drugs or drinking, can negatively affect the well-being of such a family (Patterson, 2017). In the case of poverty, for example, the couples can lack food, which is extremely fundamental to human survival. Additionally, due to the widespread increase in prices of male commodities such as clothes and shoes, meeting the demand for such needs (clothing) can be tight, therefore, further making life incredibly hard for gay families. Also, the increase in prices of fuel and electricity, coupled with a fall in wage rates, can negatively impact on the stability of gay marriage families (Giddens, 2006). For example, if in a given family, they rely on electricity for cooking their meals, it can be difficult for such a family earning fewer wages to keep up with such high prices of electricity. In such a scenario, the couple might be forced to rely on fast foods, which are quick to cook, hence resulting in malnutrition and other diet-related disorders such as obesity (King & Richardson, 2016). Also, increase in taxes can be extremely challenging when two males are married. In cases of opposite sex marriages, a man takes care of the bills that can be tough to decide on a gay marriage given that the couples are only males and that can act as a reason for increased stress, which might translate to a high number of conflicts within the family.
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Religion
Same-sex marriages have been a center of contention for many religious organizations across the world, for many years now. According to the Christian and Muslim teachings, same-sex marriage is highly condemned, and those individuals practicing it are considered evil or impure (Sherkat, Powell-Williams, Maddox & de Vries, 2011). Given this fact, gay couples and the families that they shepherd may find it hard interesting with other people within their societies, causing them to be lonely, stressed and depressed (Giddens, 2006). Some churches such as Catholic, have made strict rules which bar persons who engage in gay activities leave alone being married, to enter into the church. That makes it difficult for the married couples in a gay family to even find friends, with whom they can share their daily trials, some of which can only be solved through social interaction and sharing.
Education
Education is an essential need in human life, which allows people to develop and advance their skills for a particular area interest. Schools have proven to be the primary source of the increased stigmatization of same-sex married couples. Some schools have introduced into their curriculum, units or topics, which are meant to teach and educate the children on the adverse effects of same sex marriages (Patterson, 2017; Sherkat et al., 2011). When that happens, children grow up knowing that any form of same-sex marriage is completely wrong and against societal and religious teachings, which acts to make them biased against and hostile towards gay couples. Thus, when a child hears of an individual who is a gay, they quickly spread messages, and that increases stigmatization, which can increase stress levels in those persons practicing same-sex marriages (Giddens, 2006). Also, the greater use of modern technologies within schooling institutions has made it easy for homophobic messages to be proliferated, which has caused gay persons to be discriminated to an even greater extent. Consider this in light of online social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which have made the transmission of messages across widespread areas, in real time, a reality (Giddens, 2006). Therefore, messages about an individual who is gay can result to increased stigmatization, something that can cause stress and other mind or brain problems (Graybill & Proctor, 2016).
The Government and the Law
Same-sex marriage again is a topic that has generated hot debate within the government, amongst state officials, who hold very divergent views, some in support of and others in opposition of the issue of same-sex marriages, such as gay marriages. For instance, in the United States during the reign of former President Obama, gay marriages received much support, given his stand on ensuring that the rights of gays are respected across the world (Sherkat et al., 2011). However, in countries such as Uganda, found in East Africa, the government has implemented legal codes of conduct that criminalize gay marriage. In this state, an individual found practicing risks receiving a dead sentence in the court of justice. It is such laws passed by the government that make it difficult the lives of gay married couples (King & Richardson, 2016; Sherkat et al., 2011). The couples, therefore, have to hide their identity or rather make their marriage secretive so as to avoid being jailed. Additionally, such countries with strict rules and regulations on the wedding of the same gender, those who practice might fail to secure good jobs due to the fear of getting exposed when asked about their marital status.
Conclusion
As discussed above, it is evident that indeed gay marriages face serious social challenges, unlike the opposite sex marriages. In families, where couples are of the same gender (gay or lesbianism), they have to struggle due to the rapid changes in the economy, education, religion, government, and law. It is, therefore, important that individuals consider such factors before they decide which type of marriage to take that are either opposite-sex marriage or same gender marriages.
Sociologists address a family as a social institution, which gets affected by several changes
Giddens, A. (2006). By Anthony Giddens - Sociology (5th Edition edition). Polity Press.
Graybill, E. C., & Proctor, S. L. (2016). Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth: Limited representation in school support personnel journals. Journal of School Psychology , 54 , 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.11.001
King, S. D., & Richardson, V. E. (2016). Influence of income, being partnered/married, resilience, and discrimination on mental health distress for midlife and older gay men. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health , 20 (2), 127–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2015.1127191
Patterson, C. J. (2017). Parents’ Sexual Orientation and Children’s Development. Child Development Perspectives , 11 (1), 45–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12207
Sherkat, D. E., Powell-Williams, M., Maddox, G., & de Vries, K. M. (2011). Religion, politics, and support for same-sex marriage in the United States, 1988–2008. Social Science Research , 40 (1), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.08.009
