I am the Gay Marriage Maker
Manifestations of the magical gay marriage fairy
I am the gay marriage maker! Well, that’s my belief anyway and I’m sticking to it.
Over the last fifty years, I have lived in seven countries, four of which made marriage legal after I left.
I was born and raised in South Africa, a country with a horrendous reputation for discrimination, a reputation that was well-deserved, I might add. As a baby dyke, I was on the receiving end of some of this overt prejudice on many occasions. When I left the country in 2003 to emigrate to New Zealand, never did I think that the homophobic society I had just left would legalize gay marriage, let alone a mere three years later. But there it was, a government trying to right the wrongs of the past on all counts, and my friends were running out to get married… and subsequently divorced.
Yes folks, the gays ruin their marriages just as easily as our straight compadres do!
The magic had started!
When we arrived in New Zealand, civil union was already legal but not gay marriage. I lived in the land of the long white cloud for four years, leaving in 2007. My super gay marriage magic took a little time to manifest upon my departure, but in 2013 the House of Representatives passed the Marriage (Definition of Marriage), Amendment Bill, with a vote of 77 to 44.
And bam! The magic continued.
I then spent ten wonderful years in the suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. During that time, I completed two Psychology degrees at university and conscripted my fellow gays to participate in different research projects that I worked on, mostly regarding language within, and attitudes towards, the gay community. I interviewed friends of mine that had “gotten married” recently despite the marriage having no legality in Australia, and I remember discussing with them how far off we all thought that gay marriage was in the land down under. This was in 2014.
I left Australia in September 2017 for US shores, and in December of the same year, gay marriage was legalized.
I was starting to believe in my magical powers!
As gay marriage was legal in the US when I arrived, my inner fairy was able to take a break from her super gay manifestation.
In February 2019 I went to Costa Rica to teach English. I participated in the San José Pride Parade in July of that year and then left a few months later in September. In May 2020, Costa Rica legalized same-sex marriage.
Need I say more?
Now, I’m not saying that I am the magical gay marriage fairy… no wait, yes, yes I am! I am the magical gay marriage fairy.
Now, I do admit that I have become a little sloppy in my civic duties over the last few years, spending the majority of my time in countries where gay marriage is legal, so I’ll end with this: if you live in a country where you’d like gay marriage to be legalized, give me a shout and I’ll dust off my big gay fairy panties and see what I can do!
