When Arguing for Equality Forms a Collective Identity: French and German Discourses in Favor of Same-sex Marriage

Examining a German open letter and a French manifesto, both published in 2013, this article compares two ways of argumentation in favor of same-sex marriage. Using French discourse analysis, this linguistic study shows that the claimed extension of legal rights emphasizes the idea of parity, yet from different perspectives: the German open letter argues for emotional equality whereas the French manifesto is based on the reaffirmation of legal equality. In these public discourses are thus built up collective ethe which aim at supporting the suggested point of view. Yet the argumentations per se are also signs of the existence and the power of the collective speakers. Promoting in public same-sex marriage is therefore a way of both convincing the audience and claiming the existence and the symbolic authority of the group which defends this position: the collective does not only set out arguments for a particular point of view, it also manifests its existence through the expression of a point of view.