Over the past few months, I have had several conversations with my American friends (I am Canadian, my boyfriend is American and we live in China) about marriage. As a Canadian, and the sibling of a gay person, I believe that everyone should have the same rights as everyone else, and that (forgive me) any country that would not allow its citizens to marry based on sexual preference is, well, a little backward.
So I started thinking, why is the Wedding Industrial Complex not involved in this debate? They make millions of dollars a year selling dreams. They are in it for the money. So why aren't they pushing for the legalization of gay marriage? There's so much more money to be made! My parents were caterers for several years and the number of gay marriages we did certainly helped pay for my college tuition (we only did a few, so yes, that's how much money there is to be made!).
If the wedding industry can persuade people to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that one wears for one day only, couldn't they convince people to do the right thing…?
Look, I don't have a solution to this problem, but clearly the way it has been handled thus far isn't working very well. It just seems to me that if we could get the mainstream wedding industry involved in the debate, the situation could be resolved. If they can persuade people to spend thousands of dollars on a dress that one wears for one day only, couldn't they convince people to vote for a law that would allow everyone to proclaim their love? If every bride who went to a large wedding website, signed petitions to allow everyone to have same rights them, couldn't that help?
There is precedent for what I am suggesting. See The Simpsons episode There's Something About Marrying. I mean if Homer gets it…
Maybe I'm too optimistic. Maybe it's just cause I'm Canadian, and I believe that everyone should be treated fairly. Or maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic.
It's just love.
PS from Ariel: I'm reminded of Proposition 8: The Musical and its line: “Every time a gay or lesbian finds love at the parade / There's money to be made!” Watch the full thing:
