When Same-Sex Couples Say ‘I Do’: Display Work and the (Re)Production of the Wedding Rite

Elizabeth Mamali, Lorna Stevens

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (SciVal)
109 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Weddings are collective rituals that enable couples to show their solemn commitment to an invited audience. In this sense, weddings can thus be viewed as important forms of ‘display work’. While there are clear commonalities between rituals and display work, particularly in terms of their emphasis on spectacle, demonstration and audience, little attention has been given to how display work can inform and indeed transform wedding rituals. We use display work as a lens for exploring how same-sex couples construct and enact their wedding. In particular we show how heteronormative, gendered traditions that underpin the wedding rite are negotiated. Our findings demonstrate the interplay between display work and normative ritual elements. We identify four tactics of ‘reflexive display’: strategic compliance; playful appropriation; annexation; and conspicuous absence. Together, these show how the wedding rite is done, undone or redone, to reflect each couple’s unique relationship and perspective on same-sex union.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)987-1003
Number of pages17
JournalSociology-the Journal of the British Sociological Association
Volume54
Issue number5
Early online date15 Jun 2020
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: this project was supported by a Seed Corn Funding award from the School of Management, University of Bath.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.

Keywords

  • display work
  • rituals
  • same-sex weddings
  • wedding rituals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Sociology and Political Science

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