Writing in Salon, novelist Louis Bayard regrets having to blast Martina Navratilova, who has done so much for sports, women in sports, and lesbian visibility, for aggressively taking "advantage of a legal double standard that is both sexist and homophobic" in her divorce from Toni Layton. As you know, this isn't Martina's first high-profile split, nor is it the first time she's argued in court that same-sex relationships are nothing like a marriage. In 1991, after ending her partnership with Judy Nelson, Martina's lawyers in a pre-trial meeting portrayed their relationship as prostitution, claiming they "had had a contract for sex" and "therefore [it was] against public policy" according to another ex, Rita Mae Brown.
Bayard argues:
"What was cynical then has become indefensible now. Martina Navratilova can no longer cast herself as an apostle for gay rights while using a homophobic legal code to deny her ex-partners alimony. This is more than bad behavior, it is bad precedent. And it comes at the worst possible time.
"Very soon -- sooner than anyone could have guessed -- gay marriage will become the law in much of the land. A great deal has been written about whether straight America is ready; less has been written about whether gay America is ready. Not just to be held to the same contractual standards as heterosexual couples but to believe (after years of being told otherwise) that their relationships really are of equal standing. And to go on believing it when those relationships collapse.
"...If we want our relationships to be taken seriously, if we want the legal sanction of marriage, we must be ready to stand by our contracts and our obligations -- no matter how expensive or inconvenient it is and no matter what example is set by our culturally designated "heroes." Equality has its blessings. It also has its price."
Complicated. (Pre-nup?) In addition to wanting to keep her money, Martina may feel it's a bit much to ask her to forfeit millions now to make a point about the "deeply inhospitable" Florida legal system that gave her no benefits or security of couplehood when they were together. We know she's mad. She had Toni forcibly removed from their property and denied her access to her belongings. And she's about to get madder. Toni's lawyer publicly threatened to reveal "many dark secrets from Navratilova's past and present life ...such as the intrigue surrounding arch-rival Chris Evert, the incestuous nature of the Women's Tennis Association, former lovers, improprieties between business associates, and more."
I think Bayard is wrong in his assertion that public opinion would be with Toni if Martina were a man. That's why we have the term "gold digger." Besides, fans always side with the famous person. But he could be right about precedent, or at least raising the public profile. Things that have long existed out of the spotlight don't penetrate our culture until they've happened to a celebrity: aids needed Rock Hudson, bulimia needed Princess Diana, African adoption needed Angelina Jolie, public sex needed George Michael, voguing needed Madonna, etc.
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