Same Sex Relationships In Australia

Superior Essays
Within the last decade same-sex couples have experienced several changes regarding legal recognition compared to previous generations. The increase in legal recognition aims to remove institutionalised discrimination and improve community values. Individuals are bringing about change worldwide through successful initiatives, to promote awareness and inclusion. Therefore, families have begun to increase diversity -including a rise in the number of same-sex couples - however, same-sex couples still face a range of significant challenges. This essay explores the greater rights that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people have experienced today, examines the tensions between power structures and recognises the challenges they still …show more content…
The expenditure on weddings due to the marriage equality legislation has proven to boost the economy. For instance, the American economy experienced a $111 million boost, due to dividends from same-sex weddings. Therefore, the Australian economy and other supporting countries may benefit from the legalisation of marriage equality. As for LGBT couples, they begin to benefit from legal equality as they begin to feel accepted within communities. For example, LGBT couples have the US Centre for Disease Control states that drug use, heart disease and stress rates are lower among married couples. Overall, by enforcing same-sex marriage the mental health and well-being of same sex couples will improve. Due to recent law changes, the support of same-sex relationships has grown world-wide. In Australia, the amount of unions, corporations, local governments and churches that recognise same-sex marriages has rapidly increased. While governments such as Taiwan and Austria have recognised the idea and are considering making changes (Sullivan, 2018). Furthermore, supporters of marriage equality are beginning to grow within Australia, proving that the social spectrum is improving. Despite significant improvements within society, same-sex couples are still grappling with issues today. It is proven same-sex parented families have become emotionally impacted due to homophobia, prejudice and discrimination (Maguire, 2018). A study from 2008 confirmed that same-sex children raised in the United States and Netherlands are significantly more impacted by homophobic bullying than Dutch children (Karp, 2017). To conclude, children born into same-sex marriages are more likely to experience homophobic bullying than any other youth, which can impact how they perform at school and in the future. In short, LGBT couples have increased the amount of diversity

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