What, exactly, are we measuring? Examining heteronormativity in relation to same‐gender marriage

Abstract Focusing on the relationship between same‐gender marriage and heteronormativity, my objectives in this paper are twofold. First, I examine the scholarly conversation examining same‐gender marriage as a practice that either reinforces or challenges heteronormativity. I agree with the arguments posed by contemporary sociologists that reducing same‐gender marriage to being purely supportive or disruptive of heteronormativity oversimplifies the issue. Next, I critically examine how challenges to heteronormativity are being measured in the context of same‐gender marriage. I argue that future scholarship would benefit from more thoroughly considering how challenges to heteronormativity manifest in different forms and impact the social system of heteronormativity in distinct and varied ways.