Sexual Orientation and the Law : An Examination of the Discourse on Two Federal Acts in Canada

T. Lucas

Abstract: This thesis examines the place of law and rights-based legal reform within the struggle for gay and lesbian liberation. Specifically, I explore whether reformist strategies involving engagement with the law can offer evidence of a shift in the current hegemonic order over ideas about gay and lesbians in modern Canadian society. Through an analysis of two recent enactments by Parliament that placed the phrase 'sexual orientation' into Canadian law - Bill C-11 (1994) and Bill C-33 (1996) - I address the problems and possibilities of counterhegemonic discourses in confronting those of dominant ideologies which collectively shape and impact upon issues of concern to gays and lesbians. This study utilizes the discursive data found through Parliamentary debate and media and organizational documentation concerning these legislative acts in the attempt to uncover aspects of how gay and lesbian sexualities 'fit' into the configuration of law and society.