Rituals of Gay and Lesbian Weddings.

• Position: Brief Article

As activists and politicians debate the merits and drawbacks to samesex marriages, Ellen Lewin, associate professor of women's studies and anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, has taken a step back to look at the rituals involved in these ceremonies and what they represent for the couples, as well as for society as a whole. She interviewed more than 50 gay and lesbian couples who had held "commitment ceremonies" as part of the field work for her book, Recognizing Ourselves: Ceremonies of Lesbian and Gay Commitment.

Some couples see their marriage as a way for their relationship to be recognized as a heterosexual relationship would be--in essence, a way for them to be "just like everybody else." On the other hand, some gay couples think that, by publicly announcing their love for and commitment to one another in a ceremony, they are advancing the more radical or "in-your-face" aspects of gay culture.

Lewin says her research did not identify any typical gay wedding, but that the ceremonies have in common the fact that they are...