In Ottawa, on Monday, two gentlemen applied for and received an Official Marriage License from City Hall. Today, our beloved Prime Minister, Johnny Crouton got to read some more stuff he doesn’t understand. Canada is going to recognize same-sex marriage as just as legal as a conventional male-female marriage.
Like many, I don’t care what people do in private, as long as it is consensual between participants of legal age and does not involve animals. Some behaviours may be personally repellent, uninteresting, or simply not sanitary, but as long as someone is gettin’ some, I have no argument.
The definition of marriage is just as nebulous as the definition of family, so same-sex marriage is not really a leap. What this same-sex marriage law does is recognize that bonds between humans are important emotionally and legally. I’ve known same-sex couples most of my life. My parents, straight-laced small-towners they are, were good friends with a same-sex triad. Working in television, half my co-workers were of “alternative lifestyle” and one gent I went to high school with is now Michelle.
The problem comes with introducing someone to someone else.
Introducing Marylou to a group of strangers with the term “wife”although a bit of a pejorative, implies shared dwelling, bills, money, cat, dog and bedroom antics. It is a statement that the two of us are a nuclear unit that uses the shorthand of “husband and wife” to describe dozens of attributes of both of us. Unfortunately wife and husband are gender-specific terms and can’t be used for same-sex couples.
If am introduced to Chad and his partner Brian, the term “partner” could mean business partner. Partner does not communicate the same realm of attributes as husband and wife. Chad and his Life-partner Brian is an alternative, but I find it a bit precious. Spouse is a little too cold and My Fuck-Bitch, gives me a little too much information for polite conversation.
We need a new term to recognize same-sex couples with the same depth as husband and wife. Any suggestions?
RoadDave 
“Life partner” sounds like businessmen sentenced to life in prison. “Significant other” always raises the question “other WHAT”. And in my current situation, I am the typical “wife” taking care of the house, while my wife is the “bread-winning hubby”.
How about just use names, and when someone’s rude enough to ask “So what’s your relation”, tell ’em “None of your danged business” or “He/she’s who I share my life with”. Then again, my dogs (and now cats) have always strongly shared my life. I’ll stick with “wife” for my wife, and let those creative gays come up with something. If they can design clothes and house decor, certainly they can come up with some title! 😉