The antagonization of Gay marriage in the 21st century in the U.S.A
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2020-06-18
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en
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This thesis investigates gay marriage and gender identity as concepts threatened by the coalition of Neoliberalism, traditional Evangelicals, and the Republican Party, seen through the Trump administration. The effects of the interrelation of these three parties promote a heteronormative Evangelical agenda that promotes Religious Freedom through the First Amendment over gay rights and gender identity that are mandated to be equally protected under the exact same Amendment. First, by presenting Third Wave feminism as the theoretical framework of this thesis, I prove that gender and sex are socially constructed. Second, the concept of marriage is examined through the effort made by the traditionalist Evangelicals to monopolize it and claim its heterosexual status. Third, the struggle for gay rights is put into a historical context concerning the opposition instigated by the traditionalist Evangelical –mainly white—Christians. Fourth, the case studies of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission and Bethel Ministries v. Dr. Karen B. Salmon et al. are presented to depict the extent to which the effects of Neoliberalism advocate the authoritarian and religiously driven policies of the Trump administration. Lastly, in the conclusion, it is argued that the gay community, which has fought for its rights for more than 60 years, could be challenged again due to international populist regimes that arise through Christian Right argumentation. The example of Russia is then suggested as an academically compelling and relevant case study that would exemplify how the religious right could be a barricade of gay rights in Russia.
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