After constant arguing, the Executive Yuan on Feb. 21 proposed a bill on same-sex marriage: the “enforcement act of judicial yuan interpretation No. 748.” Judging from its contents, it is an opportunistic attempt to please everyone.
Alongside the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year, two referendums against same-sex marriage were passed. Referendum No. 10 asked: “Do you agree that the Civil Code should define marriage as the union between a man and a woman?” Referendum No. 12 asked: “Do you agree that the right to persons of the same sex to create a permanent union should be guaranteed by an institution other than marriage as defined by the Civil Code?” Both won majority support.
However, when comparing the two referendums with the articles of the bill, most people would not know whether to laugh or cry. It is clear that the Cabinet adhered closely to the outcome of the referendums.
From the perspective of a psychologist, the bill might protect certain LGBT rights, but, in addition to the bill’s 27 articles, it might be even more important that government agencies promote destigmatization and real, substantive equality.
Marriage and family used to be a simple concept, but the passing of time has brought new challenges. People guard an image of the perfect family in their mind, as well as a longing for romance in marriage.
However, most LGBT people that I have met through my profession expressed disappointment with their biological families and the marriages that they had witnessed, or fear of entering marriage. Why is that?
As Canadian-American sociologist Erving Goffman pointed out in his 1963 book Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity, stigmatized individuals “must constantly strive to adjust to their precarious social identities. Their image of themselves must daily confront and be affronted by the image which others reflect back to them.”
At work, we psychologists are often deeply aware of the unspeakable pain of patients who live in a negative social atmosphere. While we try our best to accept and support our patients, we remind ourselves that each and every one of us could become a victim or even a perpetrator of stigmatization.
The release of the bill in accordance with the Council of Grand Justices’ Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 is a boost to the spirits of LGBT people. Unfortunately, immeasurable stigma, myth and fear remain firmly fixed behind the draft articles.
The American Psychiatric Association in 2011 called on all nations to strive to eliminate the stigmatization and punishment of homosexuals. Taiwanese legislation must keep up with psychiatry.
However, all of society must stand together and fight against stigmatization if we are ever going to be able to build a gender-friendly environment. Only by doing so will Taiwan deserve to be called a “human rights nation.”
Wu Chih-hsiang is a counseling psychologist.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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