Equality...sort-of...

So, yesterday was the big day in the UK. For the first time in it's very long history, the UK allowed same-sex couples to officially register their relationships. Due to some rule however, there is a 2 week waiting period between registering and actually getting recognized so the first ceremonies won't take place until December 21. I wish I could feel really excited about this but it just feels a little lack-luster. The newspapers have been carrying many articles about this issue but they're all more-or-less about the expected boom to the marriage industry now that "pink weddings" will start. I don't know if it's just silly of me but I'm really getting kinda offended by the expectation that gay weddings will be anything different (on the whole) than straight weddings. These articles anticipate a huge rise in business for the makers of feather boas and the representatives of drag queens. Come on! From my, albeit rather biased, perspective, the only area that will be affected will be the greeting card industry. I've been subjected to articles telling me that so and so is excited about the new law and has introduced his and his towels proclaiming, "Nearest, Dearest, Queerest". Ugh! Mrs. Whatever from the London Zoo says, "We're expecting many requests for gay 'weddings' since homosexuals are usually animal lovers." Excuse me? Some hotels have started stocking pink champagne. I am so sick of this stuff. Am I right to be offended? I don't know but I am nonetheless. We've been demanding equality for so long and now that it's arriving, kind-of, in the UK, it has to be portrayed as purely business. Also annoying is the fact that the law introduces civil unions which are equal in all regards to marriage except that they are not called marriage. Therefore, all articles use quotes when talking about everything (the new "marriages" will be equal in all regards to straight marriage, people are getting very excited about the "weddings".) Ugh! I also hate that people refer to gay weddings as "pink" weddings. When did we become associated with a color? I'll tell you when. It was when the Nazis branded us with pink triangles. Sure, the pink triangle has now become a symbol of our community but I really hate pink and it's history still being used to label a whole cross-section of the population.

Naturally I should be focusing on the fact that at long last another country is welcoming gay couples to the fold. Also, there has been almost no furor over it here; the conservative politicians have welcomed the move, religious groups have said almost nothing, I have yet to see any bad comments in the opinions pages, businesses are excited, etc. Hopefully now that the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada (and soon South Africa) have accepted gay unions, the rest of the world will see the benefits. New Zealand and Australia can't be far off. Nor can Scandinavia or Germany. When will the U.S. wake up and offer full equality to all it's citizens?
Anyway, excuse the rant. It's a happy time despite the annoyances.