How many older gays secretly oppose same-sex marriage?
by Michael Cook, MercatorNet:
According to the foremost campaigners in Australia for same-sex marriage, The Equality Campaign, “Research shows only a small group of Australians firmly oppose marriage equality”. Oddly enough, this “small group” may include a number of gays over the age of 50.
In a revealing article in The Conversation, an experienced researcher into the lives of gay men points out that there is a clear divide between the aspirations of younger and older gay men. Peter Robinson, of Swinburne University of Technology, in Melbourne, has just published a study of older gays in Australia, Gay Men’s Working Lives, Retirement and Old Age.
In 2013 he interviewed a small international sample of gay as part of his research into sexuality and ageing. At that time, it appeared that “Most of the men over 50 were dubious, if not opposed, to gay marriage, while most of those under 30 were supportive”.
Why? Most of the rhetoric defending same-sex marriage in Australia’s plebiscite has assumed that all gays think the same. Take this paragraph from The Equality Campaign’s website:
Marriage means every relationship is equal and has the same value. LGBTI Australians and our family members and friends just want the same recognition and value for our life-long, loving and committed relationships. All couples want to be there for each other through thick and thin, grow old together and be able to retire with dignity — and know that their life-long relationships are equal.
But equality is exactly what some – it’s hard to say how many – older gays do not want. Robinson quotes a 59-year-old black gay activist from San Francisco:
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