ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the way in which romantic love has been used in the debate for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, as a means to break down traditional and conservative readings of marriage. It begins by documenting the way love has been used in the debate. The chapter then shows how this strategy fits in with a general social cultural and legal discourse of marriage as an expression of romantic love. It then turns to question the usefulness of this strategy. In doing this, the chapter considers the positive reading as well as the critique of romantic love. The chapter then argues that for romantic love to be an effective political tool, not only for the same-sex marriage debate, but also more widely, it needs to be rethought according to its critiques. It is only by adopting some changes that romantic love can in fact realise the radical potential it has long held out as a possibility for us.
