scholarly journals Narratives of Incorporation:  An Anthropological Analysis of Same-Sex Civil Unions  in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dionne Steven
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Contextual Knowledge ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Civil Unions ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
Mainstream Society ◽  
Symbolic Content

<p>In this thesis I examine civil unions from the perspective of New Zealand-based same-sex couples who have chosen to formalise their relationship. My approach is qualitative and in-depth and focuses on interpreting participants' own meanings and beliefs while also recognising the need for broader contextual knowledge. Through participants’ narratives, I explore why it was important for couples to have a civil union, how they chose to mark or enact the occasion, and the meanings they attribute to their choices and actions. Rather than treating the civil union as an isolated event, my analysis situates the civil union within four longer processual trajectories: individual biographical narratives, partner interactions, close social relationships, and trajectories of a socio-political nature. I then explore the contours of participants’ civil union ceremonies in terms of scale, style, and symbolic content. Throughout the thesis, I argue that civil unions facilitate incorporation for same-sex couples on a number of levels: incorporation in terms of inclusion in an important ‘meaning-constitutive’ practice; familial incorporation; and incorporation into mainstream society more generally. The incorporating effects of civil unions owe much to the symbolic capacities of law, the meaning inscribed in the socially dominant cultural model of marriage, and the characteristics of ritual. The importance of ritual to the anthropological enterprise is reaffirmed through this study; not only do rituals provide an important lens through which to examine the normative values of society but also the origins of social revitalization.</p>

scholarly journals Narratives of Incorporation:  An Anthropological Analysis of Same-Sex Civil Unions  in New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dionne Steven
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Contextual Knowledge ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Civil Unions ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
Mainstream Society ◽  
Symbolic Content

<p>In this thesis I examine civil unions from the perspective of New Zealand-based same-sex couples who have chosen to formalise their relationship. My approach is qualitative and in-depth and focuses on interpreting participants' own meanings and beliefs while also recognising the need for broader contextual knowledge. Through participants’ narratives, I explore why it was important for couples to have a civil union, how they chose to mark or enact the occasion, and the meanings they attribute to their choices and actions. Rather than treating the civil union as an isolated event, my analysis situates the civil union within four longer processual trajectories: individual biographical narratives, partner interactions, close social relationships, and trajectories of a socio-political nature. I then explore the contours of participants’ civil union ceremonies in terms of scale, style, and symbolic content. Throughout the thesis, I argue that civil unions facilitate incorporation for same-sex couples on a number of levels: incorporation in terms of inclusion in an important ‘meaning-constitutive’ practice; familial incorporation; and incorporation into mainstream society more generally. The incorporating effects of civil unions owe much to the symbolic capacities of law, the meaning inscribed in the socially dominant cultural model of marriage, and the characteristics of ritual. The importance of ritual to the anthropological enterprise is reaffirmed through this study; not only do rituals provide an important lens through which to examine the normative values of society but also the origins of social revitalization.</p>

scholarly journals The New Zealand Civil Union Act: New Challenges for Private International Law

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Joanna Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
International Law ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Private International Law ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Civil Unions ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Union Type

This article discusses private international law issues which arise as a result of the Civil Union Act 2004, which came into force in 2005.  The author first discusses what kind of recognition New Zealand may extend to foreign unions, including both civil union type relationships and same sex marriages.  This discussion considers recognition under the Civil Unions (Recognised Overseas Relationships) Regulations 2005, recognition as marriage and other possible avenues of recognition.  This includes a consideration of currently recognised and unrecognised relationships, and the desirability of the current approach. It also includes a discussion of the issues surrounding the recognition of these types of relationships generally; for example, validity, status and public policy. The author then considers what kind of recognition the New Zealand civil union may receive in foreign jurisdictions.

Can Same-Sex Partners Consent to Organ Donation?

2003 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-44
Author(s):  
Roderick T. Chen ◽  
Alexandra K. Glazier
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Sex Partners ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
Organ Donations ◽  
Domestic Partnerships ◽  
Appeals Court ◽  
Estate Law

As more same-sex couples enter into civil unions and domestic partnerships, the courts and other institutions are beginning to consider the implications of these partnerships in several areas of the law. A Georgia appeals court, for example, recently published the first opinion addressing this issue, ruling that a civil union of two women, obtained in Vermont, was not equivalent to a marriage for the purposes of interpreting a child custody agreement entered into in Georgia. As many observers predicted, the enactment of legislation recognizing same-sex partnerships has profound implications on the practice of family law, trust and estate law and healthcare law.This Article focuses on an area of healthcare law in which the legal status of a civil union or domestic partnership could have significant consequences—organ donations. In particular, it explores whether a civil union or domestic partner is an appropriate party to consent to an organ donation.

scholarly journals Sexual Citizenship and the Civil Union Act 2004

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Seuffert
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Private Law ◽  
Heterosexual Relationships ◽  
Committed Relationships ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
State Recognition ◽  
Parliamentary Debates ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Civil Union

This article analyses the parliamentary debates on the Civil Union Act 2004, which provides for legal recognition of same sex relationships, for stories of national identity.  A close reading of the parliamentary debates on the Act suggests that although the supporters and opponents of the legislation seemed to be worlds apart, many told similar stories about New Zealand as a nation, and citizens within that nation, emphasising similar values and aspirations.  Both sides told stories of citizens, of New Zealanders, as tolerant and fair, as forwarding-looking progressives who value stable long-term, committed relationships, warm loving communities for children, and strong families and family relationships.  Both sides generally saw marriage as a positive institution, a cornerstone of society and a building block for society and the nation.  While some talked of existing alternatives to marriage, such as de facto relationships, and there was some recognition that not all marriages are good ones, with a few notable exceptions, there was little mention of critiques of marriage as an institution and little or no positive mention of relationships outside of the paradigm of long-term committed, monogamous relationships.  Further, while there were arguments, reflecting a privatisation paradigm, that the Civil Union Act 2004 was not necessary since the rights and duties of same sex couples could be structured using the private law of contract and trusts (a claim that was debated), there was no suggestion that state recognition of marriage should be abolished, or that long-term heterosexual relationships should be structured through private law.

Three-year follow-up of same-sex couples who had civil unions in Vermont, same-sex couples not in civil unions, and heterosexual married couples.

2008 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly F. Balsam ◽  
Theodore P. Beauchaine ◽  
Esther D. Rothblum ◽  
Sondra E. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Married Couples ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Civil Unions ◽  
Same Sex Couples

Social Networks and Psychiatric Morbidity in New Zealand Women

1992 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 485-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Romans ◽  
V. A. Walton ◽  
G. P. Herbison ◽  
P. E. Mullen
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Rural Women ◽  
Psychiatric Morbidity ◽  
Normative Values ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Demographic Subgroup ◽  
Demographic Subgroups

A random community survey of urban and rural New Zealand women revealed higher rates of psychiatric morbidity in subjects who reported poorer social support. Substantial differences in social networks were found between demographic subgroups. Rural women described better than expected social relationships, giving some support to the pastoral ideal of well integrated rural communities. Women in part-time employment also described better social networks. Elderly, low socio-economic, and widowed, separated and divorced women had poorer social relationships. It is suggested that normative values for social network measures for each demographic subgroup will need to be established before the clinical significance of deviations from the norm can be meaningfully evaluated. Also, the mechanisms linking social networks to health may vary in different subgroups.

scholarly journals THE “SHAKESPEAREAN ROSE” BLOSSOMS DOWN THE EQUATOR: REFLECTIONS UPON THE IMPACT OF BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT’S DECISION RECOGNIZING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF SAME-SEX CIVIL UNIONS

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Bruno Rodrigues de Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Civil Unions ◽  
Civil Marriage ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Special Protection

In May 5th 2011, Brazilian Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) decided unanimously that Brazilian Constitution allows civil unions between two people regardless their gender, thus admitting same-sex partnerships as a legitimate type of family entity entitled to special protection provided by article 226 of current Brazilian Political Charter. However, the repercussions of such decision have yet to be fully realized, particularly because of paragraph 3 of the same article, which explicitly determines that the law shall facilitate the conversion of a civil union into marriage. Hence, the discussion about same-sex civil marriage has regained its momentum in Brazilian legal scenario, whether in legislative or judiciary arenas. This article means to demonstrate how the Brazilian Supreme Court has already created a legal substrate towards isonomic treatment for both different-sex and same-sex civil unions, which would make it quite illogical to admit hierarchical rankings between them.

scholarly journals INTESTATE SUCCESSION AND THE SURVIVOR OF AN UNFORMALISED SAME-SEX CONJUGAL RELATIONSHIP: Laubscher No v Duplan 2017 (2) SA 264 (CC)

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Cameron Wood-Bodley
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Lesbian Relationship ◽  
Substantive Equality ◽  
Civil Union ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
Domestic Partnerships ◽  
The Right

When a person dies intestate his or her heirs are determined by the provisions of section 1(1) and (2) of the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987. Included amongst the heirs is the deceased’s surviving spouse, who either takes the entire estate or shares it with the deceased’s descendants (if any). Historically, the reference to “spouse” in the Act was taken to mean a person to whom the deceased was married in terms of the Marriage Act 25 of 1961. Accordingly, persons who were married to the deceased merely by religious rites and persons with whom the deceased was in a long-term conjugal relationship that was unformalised by marriage were excluded.The advent of constitutional democracy in South Africa resulted in a number of challenges to this status quo through reliance on the equality clause of the Bill of Rights. As a result of these challenges it has now been recognised that the survivor of a Hindu marriage, a monogamous Muslim marriage, and a polygynous Muslim marriage all have the right to inherit on intestacy as a “spouse”. Furthermore, in a groundbreaking decision in Gory v Kolver NO (Starke and others intervening) (2007 (4) SA 97 (CC)) the Constitutional Court recognised that the exclusion of the surviving partner of a gay or lesbian relationship from the right to inherit on intestacy was unconstitutional, and directed that the relevant sections of the Intestate Succession Act be amended by a reading-in of additional words to remedy the unconstitutionality. These words conferred the right to inherit on intestacy on the survivor of a monogamous permanent same-sex partnership in which the partners undertook reciprocal duties of support. At the time of writing no survivor of an unformalised opposite-sex relationship has challenged his or her exclusion from intestate succession. Possibly this reticence has been influenced by the decision in Volks NO v Robinson (2005 (5) BCLR 446 (CC)) (hereinafter “Volks”). In Volks the Constitutional Court held that it is not unconstitutional for the Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act 27 of 1990 to distinguish between married and unmarried persons by giving the survivor of a marriage a claim for reasonable maintenance against the estate of the deceased spouse but not giving a similar claim to the survivor of a relationship in which the parties did not marry.Paleker has raised the question whether the Gory order “must still be applied in light of the Civil Union Act” but he comes to no firm conclusion, and states tentatively that “if marriage … is a precondition for inheriting, persons in same-sex unions who have not solemnised their relationship after the coming into force of the Civil Union Act … may be precluded from inheriting intestate from each other”. On the other hand De Waal and Schoeman-Malan are clearly of the view that the order in the Gory case still operates and – whilst regarding the current position as “anomalous” – they state that it “will probably continue until the Domestic Partnerships Bill [GN36 in GG 30663 of 2008-1-14] eventually does become law”. This has also been the interpretation accepted by the Master’s office acting on advice from the Senior State Law Advisor. The different treatment accorded same-sex couples by the continued retention of the benefits conferred by Gory has been defended on the grounds of substantive equality, since many practical obstacles still stand in the way of same-sex couples formalising their relationships.The question of the continued applicability of the reading-in order in Gory has now come before the Constitutional Court in Laubscher NO v Duplan (2017 (2) SA 264 (CC)) and it is this case which is the focus of this note.

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