在地人權與家國重構：臺灣婚姻平權運動的文化論述與法律實踐

Human Rights Localized, Family and Nation Reconfi gured: Cultural Discourses and Legal Practices of the Samesex Marriage Movement in Taiwan

本文由文化人類學對於普世人權的批判思考出發，結合性公民權與同性婚權運動的跨國比較研究，論證在臺灣國族認同轉型與東亞地緣政治的脈絡中，「家」與「國」的意識形態形成了關鍵的文化構框，浸潤了公民社會之於婚姻平權的支持與反對論述，進而轉譯了同性婚姻作為人權體現的在地文化意涵與法律實踐軌跡。本文首先聚焦主流報紙中以婚姻平權為題旨的報紙投書，論證社會大眾如何以擁抱進步性別價值的獨立臺灣國家主體，相對於「中華民國」所承載的傳統文化與國家想像，論述婚姻與家庭的當代意涵，並強化對於婚姻平權運動的支持與反對立場。在這個基礎之上，本文進一步釐析看似對立的「進步」與「傳統」價值體系，如何在正反方論述中不停相互置換與挪用；當支持方以婚姻的情感化與去生殖化支持同性婚姻的進步性和合法性，也同時強調同性婚姻以單偶忠貞為形式，且具備鞏固傳統家庭倫理的潛能；而當反對方以「中華傳統文化」支持其婚家論述，同時也試圖與支持方爭奪並重新定義「民主」、「平等」和「權利」等進步修辭，藉此強調其反對同性婚姻的立場與保障平等人權的民主理想並無扞格。最後，本文論證進步與傳統構框的相互挪用如何導引了748施行法以同性家庭與親子關係為軸心的漸進式法律實踐。透過上述分析，本文彰顯婚姻平權與普世人權之間的象徵連結，如何在臺灣政治脈絡與文化轉譯之下產生獨特的在地意義移轉和法律折衷，並映照出保守婚家、民主政治、人權論述與傳統價值在當代臺灣國族認同中複雜動態的辯證關係，如何劃定了平等性公民的資格與樣貌。

This article examines how the supporting and opposing discourses regarding the same-sex marriage rights movement in Taiwanese civil society are undergirded by the ideologies of“family”and“nation,”which have become key cultural frameworks in the historical transformation of Taiwanese national identity and East Asian geopolitics, and in turn have translated the cultural meaning and legal stipulation of marriage rights as human rights in local society. This article takes insights from cultural anthropology’s critical reflections on the universality of human rights as well as from the cross-national comparative study on same-sex marriage movement. This article first focuses on letters to the editor in Taiwan’s mainstream newspapers, demonstrating how the supporting and opposing opinions on same-sex marriage is reinforced by divergent understandings of national identity, in which an independent and sovereign Taiwan nationhood that embraces progressive gender politics confronts a nationalist imagination conjured up by the regime of the Republic of China and the traditional Chinese culture it entails. On this basis, this article further analyzes how the seemingly binary“progressive”and“traditional”value systems are in fact in constant mutual appropriation and transposition. While the supporting discourse arguing for the progressive legitimacy of same-sex marriage distinguishes intimacy and commitment rather than procreation as the foundation of modern marriage, it also concentrates on how monogamous fidelity and integration into the traditional family characterizes same-sex marriages so much so that to legalize same-sex marriage is to consolidate rather than sabotage traditional family ethics. In a similar vein, while the opposing discourse uses“Chinese culture”to rationalize its disagreement with same-sex marriage, it also recalibrates and redefines the concepts of“democracy,”“equality,”and“rights”in order to emphasize that its opposition is in line with the popular democratic ideals. Finally, this article elucidates how the dialectic of progressive and traditional ideas has led to a unique and incremental legalization of same-sex marriage rights in Taiwan, in which parent-child and kin relationship becomes the center of deliberation. Through the analysis, this article highlights how the symbolic link between marriage equality and universal human rights has been translated by Taiwan’s political culture, producing the complex dynamic in cultural views on marriage and family, democracy, human rights discourse, and traditional values that further defines the contour of sexual citizenship in contemporary Taiwan.