Exploring civil partnership from the perspective of those in mixed-sex relationships: Embracing a clean slate of equality

Hayfield, Nikki; Jones, Bethan; Carter, Julia; Jowett, Adam

Abstract

Civil partnerships first became available to mixed-sex couples in England and Wales in December 2019. To date, there has been no research exploring the perspectives of mixed-sex couples who choose to become civil partners. We interviewed 21 people, as individuals or in couples, who were considering, planning, or had already entered into a civil partnership. Our thematic analysis resulted in two themes. In Free from the patriarchal baggage of marriage: Civil partnership as a clean slate of equality, we discuss how participants portrayed marriage as imbued with problematic traditions. In contrast, civil partnerships were portrayed as a contemporary form of relationship recognition that was in fitting for them and their relationships. In the second theme, Doing thing differently? Rejecting or reimagining weddings we discuss how participants critiqued traditions to navigate whether and how to reject them entirely, or attempt to creatively reimagine them. We consider the implications of our results.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 28, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Aug 14, 2023
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 29, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 17, 2023
• Journal: Journal of Family Issues
• Print ISSN: 0192-513X
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-5481
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 45
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 1925-1948
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X231194298
• Keywords: weddings, relationships, patriarchy, heterosexual, marriage
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10895750