Marriage has been a defining institution since the dawn of civilization. The first law’s to mention marriage were in Ancient Egypt 4000 years ago. The definition of marriage has been adjusted thousands of times since its inception.
In class, we watched the above video about the history of marriage as part of our investigation of the role of women in society. The video’s information on same-sex marriage was a surprise to me.
“Publically recognized same-sex unions have popped up in various civilizations throughout history”
Ted Ed
With the current climate of same-sex marriage rights so contested, it was a surprise to me. In most social justice issues, society moves forward, not backward. I did some extra digging to learn more about same-sex marriage rights in history, and I came across some interesting readings.
“The history of many Native American, African and Asian cultures includes same-sex and transgender conjugal unions. But examples of formal religious ceremonies in which two men who love each other are solemnly wedded together for life can be found across Europe, throughout classical antiquity and until the end of the middle ages.”
The idea that same-sex couples were able to be wed gives me pride in humanity that a lot of our hate is far more taught than it is natural. Tales of different marginalized groups fighting for their rights are often told in a very linear sense. In the case of our studies into the Civil Rights Movement and same-sex marriage, the story of constantly moving forward is a flawed one. It is important for privileged people to remember that our ancestors were the ones to remove their rights in the first place so that we don’t think of ourselves as champions because we are only digging marginalized groups out of the hole that we originally dug.
