No Difference?

One of the arguments made by those seeking to neuter marriage is that same-sex pairings are no different than bride+groom pairings, and as such are qualitatively equal and consequently offer the same thing to the participants and society. The easiest way for someone to assert this point is to claim that there is no real difference between men and women, so they are essentially interchangeable. However, as we have noted before (see "equality paradox" label), if this were true, how would anyone know they had a homosexual orientation? Wouldn't we all be attracted to men and women equally? (The different kinds of pairings are demonstrably different, as evidenced by procreation.)

This issue of similarity between same-sex pairings and both-sexes pairings is being brought up in the current Proposition 8 trial and the discussions surrounding it.

My wife reminded me of a sympathetic documentary-type thing she saw on basic cable about female-female couple that was raising a girl - I think from artificial insemination. They were also raising twin boys, so the girl had siblings. But the two women thought it was important that she have a sister, even though she already had brothers. Apparently, they could see a strong enough difference between boys and girls that it was important for the girl to have a sister, not just brothers. But they were either blind to the difference when it came to a girl's need for a father, or they considered the matter but put their desire to have a girl to raise ahead of her need for a father. Did these women really believe that having a sister is more important than having a father? And if so, I suppose I would be completely out of line speculating as to whether or not that had anything to do with how they ended up together in the first place? They ended up with another set of twin boys (four boys being raised without a father). I don't know if they tried yet again for a girl, nor do I know if the boys will ever see the documentary and realize they were a disappointment to these two women - who already demonstrate that they devalue masculinity - simply because they were born male.