On the 5th June 2005 there is going to be a votation about legalising partnership among homosexuals. Switzerland is giving a possibility for homosexuals to have a legal paper stating their status. You have to know that this partnership is not a marriage. Below are the differences between both status:
Like Marriage
- no discrimination regarding: taxes, housing, retirement
- in case of the visit in the emergency room, the partner is concidered as family memeber (!!)
- in case of death, the partner is erning the will and is first on the list
- requires a legal divorce
- there is no "fiancé/e" nor "Yes, i do!" word
- there is no common last name
- no easy entitlment for a citizenship or passport, in case the partner is a foreigner
- no adoption or artificial insimination allowed
Right now, i believe that homosexual relationships are unstable. Many are having several partners in their lives if not during a relationship already...! The "moral" of monogamy is very tiny, in my opinion. Be it for lesbians as for gays.
In order to have some other point of views, let me give you examples for both side of the world.
Gays
Some of my gay friends, even if they are "married", they are still seeing other guys at the same time. Sometimes it may be settled like that within their relationship, which is fine as long as they protect themselves. Yet, there are other gays in a relationship who will see some others without their partner(s) knowing. Thank god some of them protect themselves, but unfortunatelly, there are plenty (still!) who don't.
In Singapore we have those so called Saunas, where the gays meet every day just for a simple "f***". They only pay an entry fee of about S$5 (SFr. 3.00), you receive a tiny face towel (...), you walk into a dark area and what happens in there is absolutely up to you. "You can sit in a corner and just wait until a cock passes by you" said one of my gay friend, who is married to his boyfriend of 10 years.
The profile of the "gay male" is really bad unfortunatelly. This constant "F****** around" doens't give them the right credit for some, who are not part of this category.
In my opinion, i think that the last category i have mentioned is a minority of the minority.
Lesbians
Since i am in Singapore i have been constantly shocked about the differences in "labels" that exist. "What are labels?" you may ask. Strangely even in the homosexual community there are discriminations of a different kind...! There are several basic labels to know:
- Butch - more masculine type. Gestures and the way of talking very much like a guy. Some of them also bind their breast flat.
- Femme - very feminine type. Make-up, mini skirt etc. Girlish behaviors.
- Andro - can be both types. They are neither butch nor femme. They may look more masculing, but their behaviors are feminine. They can look feminine, but can act tomboyish. Most of the andro really don't care about thelabels.
In each category there are 1-3 more sub-categories of labels, which make the entire labeling system a bit confusing. Hence, i shall not go into these now.
Their lifestyle varies quite a bit from the gays. Lesbians are more likely to be either jobless or not really motivated in having a career. They are "the dreamy" types. I think it is due to their feminine nature of being very sensitive and emotional. Hence, many unfortunatelly react very badly to break-ups, which lead some to suicide.
These are a few informations on the different lifestyles of both gay sexes.
Their lifestyle varies quite a bit from the gays. Lesbians are more likely to be either jobless or not really motivated in having a career. They are "the dreamy" types. I think it is due to their feminine nature of being very sensitive and emotional. Hence, many unfortunatelly react very badly to break-ups, which lead some to suicide.
These are a few informations on the different lifestyles of both gay sexes.
I believe that this partnership will allow homosexuals to find a stability in where they can rely on like everyone does. Give "monogamy" its definition back and give them the possibility of getting responsible of their life without being discriminated.
Sadly, many believe it is not necessary to give them such "priviledge". Some still believe it is "a public offence", like Singapore still bans any gay activity openly. Yet, the Singapore government got a bit more open to this subkect than 4 years ago, where it was difficult to just use the word "homosexual".
Questions
(please state the number you are responding to, if you do answer these questions in the comment box. Thank you!)
- Do you believe it can help the straight society in understanding homosexuals?
- Can this new law improve the responsibilities among homosexuals?
- Would you vote for "yes" or "no" for this initiative? Explain why.
