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Does the feminist ideal of gender equality lead to gay marriage? Yes, says Helen Rittelmeyer:

Gender differences matter; men and women are not equivalent; gay marriage pretends that they are, and so reinforces a falsehood that’s already dangerously prevalent. . . . Don’t be fooled when feminists say that they want equality, not sameness. It may sound like a concession, but it isn’t one. . . . The very fact that people think of hetero- and homosexuality as inflexible sexual preferences tells us that gender isn’t just any characteristic, but a fundamental one.

Traditional marriage is based on the assumption that men and women are different in complementary ways, so that their union forms an integral whole. If, as feminists claim to believe, men and women are essentially the same, then the notion of complementarity is invalid, and it doesn't matter whether you marry a man or a woman.

The centrality of gender difference to the marriage debate was discussed Monday by Eve Tushnet.