In what ways are same-sex relationships similar to heterosexual relationships? How are they uniquely different? Where do you see differences, and how do you explain them?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answers may include:
a. Same-sex unions share many characteristicswith heterosexual unions but are also defined by certain unique characteristics, including the partners’ shared sex, the stigmatized nature of nonheterosexuality, and the absence of legal, structural, and social supports to protect and maintain these relationships (Goldberg, 2010). And yet, despite the stigmatized nature of these relationships and in contradiction to stereotypes of LGBQ individuals as incapable of forming lasting relationships (Baker, 2005), many sexual minorities are in fact members of committed same-sex relationships.
b. Several studies have found that female same-sex couples report higher relationship quality than heterosexual couples (Balsam, Beauchaine, Rothblum, & Solomon, 2008; Kurdek, 2001; Meuwly, Feinstein, Davila, Nunez, & Bodenmann, 2013), a finding that may in part reflect the absence of structural barriers that have historically governed heterosexual (but not same-sex) relationships: that is, in the absence of fundamental relationship “constraints” such as legal support, family support, and children, relationships that are not highly rewarding are perhaps more easily terminated (Goldberg & Kuvalanka, 2012).
c. A study by Kurdek (2006) found that male and female same-sex married couples were more likely to separate than were heterosexual married couples with children (i.e., couples with multiple institutionalized barriers to leaving).