Mixed-sex civil partnerships: Developing a morality of love

Carter, Julia; Hayfield, Nikki

Abstract

Civil partnerships were extended to mixed-sex couples in England and Wales at the end of 2019, shortly followed by Northern Ireland (2020) and Scotland (2021). Since then, thousands of mixed-sex couples have entered a civil partnership. While civil partnerships were favoured by politicians as an alternative to legal rights for cohabitants, we know little about why mixed-sex couples would choose a civil partnership. In 2020–21 we interviewed individuals and couples who had entered or were planning a mixed-sex civil partnership (MSCP) to explore this further. We find that MSCPs are constructed in opposition to the ‘traditional’ image of marriage/weddings and yet symbolic elements including dress, form and structure are necessarily relied on in constructing something new, via a process of bricolage. Moreover, through civil partnership motivation talk, mixed-sex couples are constructing an individual morality that is centred on resisting cultural norms, advocating equality and justice, and pragmatic love.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 27, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 7, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 28, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 8, 2024
• Journal: Families, Relationships and Societies
• Print ISSN: 2046-7435
• Electronic ISSN: 2046-7443
• Publisher: Policy Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/204674321X16886294054314
• Keywords: Mixed-sex civil partnerships; morality; love
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10893739