Lesbians lead the way down the same-sex aisle, figures show
Kate and Kristen Wildermuth-Watt, relieved and happy to be finally married, at the Toowong Rowing Club, St Lucia, Brisbane. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen
Jared Owens
- 12:00AM October 1, 2018
- 108 Comments
Australia’s lesbians are rushing down the aisle in greater numbers than gay men, as the nation’s most conservative states — Queensland and Western Australia — lead the way in embracing same-sex marriage.
Women account for more than 56 per cent of the 4500 same-sex couples who have tied the knot since marriage equality was introduced last December, defying expectations that gay men would be most eager to wed.
Jurisdictions generally held to be more socially progressive — Victoria, NSW and the ACT — were under-represented in the statistics, whereas Queensland registered more than 20 per cent of same-sex marriages despite being home to fewer than 18 per cent of same-sex couples living together.
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Among them were Kristen and Kate Wildermuth-Watt who, after saying their vows in Brisbane yesterday, led their loved ones in a toast to equality.
“If we could, we would go back in history and thank every LGBT person who has come before us — every person who has had a tough life because of who they were, every person who had to have difficult conversation after difficult conversation, not knowing what would happen to them,” Kristen, 29, said.
“These very brave people paved the way for us. They made our lives easier, and they are the reason we are standing here today.”
Kate, 35, and her wife featured on
The Australian’s front page on November 15, the day they learnt that 61.6 per cent of Australians — including more than 60 per cent of Queenslanders — had backed their legal right to marry. University of Technology Sydney law professor Jenni Millbank said gay men were previously considered more likely than women to marry.
She noted men vastly outnumbered women on the same-sex relationship registers introduced by state governments starting in 2004. It was speculated at the time that women were more afraid to publicly declare their sexuality, perhaps because their greater caring responsibilities meant they would be more exposed to fear and prejudice.
The gap between women and men was most pronounced in Western Australia, where 64.5 per cent of married same-sex couples comprised women. The narrowest gap was in Victoria, where lesbians comprised 52.5 per cent of same-sex marriages.
The ACT had the highest proportion of total marriages being same-sex at 7.5 per cent.
However, given the high number of same-sex couples living together in the capital, it had one of the lowest take-up rates for marriage.
Kate Wildermuth-Watt said, as children, neither woman had allowed themselves to fantasise about their wedding days because they knew even then that they were different to their heterosexual siblings.
“To be honest, it was at times a source of sadness,” she said in her speech. “You sent a very strong message (at the plebiscite) to Kristen and I that you love us and that our love is equal.”
Although Western Australia has the nation’s lowest number of people in same-sex relationships, those couples have been quicker to marry than those in any other state except Queensland. Unions between men and women accounted for 95.2 per cent of all marriages since mid-December.
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