In her work, “Equality, Inc.” Lisa Duggan criticizes the recoding of key terms in the history of gay politics due to support and push for homonormativity—politics that does not contest the dominant heteronormative standards and institutions, such as marriage. She criticizes the recoding of the terms such as “equality”, “freedom” and “right to privacy,” stating, “‘equality’ becomes narrow, formal access to a few conservatizing institutions, ‘freedom’ becomes impunity for bigotry and vast inequalities in commercial life and civil society, the ‘right to privacy’ becomes domestic confinement, and the democratic politics itself become something to be escaped” (Duggan 65-66). To make such a statement, Duggan draws on the example of “Gay Tunnel Vision” as “gay civil rights groups have adopted neoliberal rhetoric and corporate decision-making models” (Duggan 47). Gay civil rights organization have become to push for gay marriage and support the “increasingly narrow gay, money elite” (Duggan 47).
A specific organization named by Duggan was the Human Rights Campaign. She also draws upon the words of Cato Institute vice president, David Boaz. Boaz argues that gay marriage is preferable to that of domestic partnership. As a gay libertarian, he does not oppose the institution and administration of marriage as one might imagine. To construct the recoding of the term “right to privacy” to domestic confinement, Duggan draws on the actions of the Independent Gay Forum in spreading the word about their new gay politics that “offers a dramatically shrunken public sphere and narrow zone of ‘responsible’ domestic privacy” (Duggan 53).
Reference:
Lisa Duggan, “Equality, Inc.,” in The Twilight of Equality?: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics, and the Attack on Democracy. Boston: Beacon Press, 2003. pp. 43-66.