RESEARCH ON GAY AND STRAIGHT COUPLES: Dale Carpenter:

Research has been done comparing gay couples to straight couples. Unfortunately, not enough research has been done in part because social conservatives in Congress consistently oppose government funding of research into sexuality generally and into gays specifically. I hope Dan and Maggie will join me in calling for more research and less opposition to federal funding, which plays an important role in legitimizing and encouraging such research.

Here is some of what we do know about the qualities of gay and straight couples, however. This is what the major national mental-health professionals' organizations -- including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association -- had to say on the subject in the amicus brief they filed in Lawrence v. Texas, citing voluminous research:


Like heterosexual couples, gay couples form deep emotional attachments and commitments. Heterosexual couples, gay male couples, and lesbian couples all face similar issues— such as intimacy, love, equity, loyalty, and stability— and go through similar processes to address those issues. See generally Peplau & Spalding, Close Relationships, supra, at 111, 114; see also R.A. Mackey et al., Psychological Intimacy in the Lasting Relationships of Heterosexual and Same-Gender Couples, 43 Sex Roles 201 (2000); L.A. Kurdek, Differences Between Heterosexual-Nonparent Couples and Gay, Lesbian and Heterosexual-Parent Couples, 22 J. Fam. Issues 727 (2001).

Research examining the quality of intimate relationships also shows that gay and lesbian couples do not differ from heterosexual couples in their satisfaction with the relationship. "Empirical research has found striking similarities in the reports of love and satisfaction among contemporary lesbian, gay and heterosexual couples." See Peplau & Spaulding, Close Relationships, supra, at 114. See also Mackey et al., Psychological Intimacy, supra; Kurdek, Differences Between, supra.

Thus, a 1991 review of the literature on gay and lesbian couples concluded that "most lesbians and gay men want intimate relationships and are successful in creating them. Homosexual partnerships appear no more vulnerable to problems and dissatisfactions than their heterosexual counterparts." See L.A. Peplau, Lesbian and Gay Relationships, in Homosexuality: Research Implications, supra, at 195; see also Kurdek, Differences Between, supra (finding no differences between gay and lesbian couples and heterosexual couples without children on individual personality differences, views on relationships, conflict resolution, and satisfaction). A major study of heterosexual and gay couples in the United States undertaken in the early 1980s similarly concluded that " [c]ouplehood, either as a reality or an aspiration, is as strong among gay people as it is among heterosexuals." P. Blumstein and P. Schwartz, America Couples: Money, Work, Sex 45 (1983).

As with heterosexual relationships, sexuality is an important aspect of most enduring gay and lesbian relationships. For same-sex couples, as for heterosexuals, sex serves to create a bond between the partners. "Having sex is an act that is rarely devoid of larger meaning for a couple. It always says something about partners' feelings for each other, what kind of values they share, and the purpose of their relationship." P. Blumstein & P. Schwartz, American Couples: Money, Work, Sex 193 (1983). Thus, for both gay and heterosexual couples, "a good sex life is central to a good overall relationship." Id. at 201, 205-206. See also L. Kurdek, Sexuality in Homosexual and Heterosexual Couples, in Sexuality in Close Relationships 177 (K. McKinney & S. Sprecher eds. 1991); L.A. Peplau, et al., A National Survey of the Intimate Relationships of African-American Lesbians and Gay Men: A Look at Commitment, Satisfaction, Sexual Behavior, and HIV Disease, in Ethnic And Cultural Diversity Among Lesbians And Gay Men 11 (B. Greene ed. 1997) (finding that greater sexual frequency and higher sexual satisfaction were correlated with relationship satisfaction among African-American lesbians and gay men).

Gay and heterosexual relationships are thus similar in such basic respects as their emotional content, the importance of the relationship to the individual, and the role of sexuality in strengthening the relationship.
posted by maggie at 6:18 PM VOTE

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