ABSTRACT
2020 was the fifth anniversary of the passage in Ireland of the 2015 marriage referendum and of the Gender Recognition Act 2015. The marriage referendum and the subsequent Marriage Act 2015 extended civil marriage to same-sex couples. This chapter highlights how, notwithstanding the momentous changes that Ireland has recently experienced, various points of legal and social vulnerability remain for LGBTQ individuals, families and couples. It argues that the heteronormative and patriarchal nature of society pose residual challenges for LGBTQ populations, particularly where intersectional factors such as age, ethnicity and gender are considered. Fineman’s position poses challenges for analyses of vulnerability that focus on the experiences of specific identity groups. Heteronormativity presupposes that heterosexuality is the normal, default, ‘natural’ sexual orientation, the preferred way of being in the world. The hegemonic force of heteronormativity privileges heterosexuality at the expense of alternative and more fluid experiences of sexual and emotional attraction.
