Marriage-à-la-New Zealand
Proof that civil unions can work like conventional marriages, 2004
Garrick Tremain, Proof that civil unions can work like conventional marriages, 2004, Otago Daily Times, New Zealand Cartoon Archive, Alexander Turnbull Library, Reference: DCDL-0000741
Proof that civil unions can work like conventional marriages, 2004
Like many of the cartoonists showcased in this exhibition, Garrick Tremain mines the institution of marriage for its satiric possibilities.
This cartoon refers to the official recognition of same-sex relationships under the Civil Unions Act that was passed into New Zealand law on 9 December 2004.
This new legislation granted equal rights and obligations to all forms of relationships: married, de facto, and civil union. Through showing the daily rituals of 'Brian' and 'Tristram', Tremain points out that same-sex couples share the irritations and frustrations of 'conventional' married life.
View more cartoons by Tremain in the New Zealand Cartoon Archive.
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga O Aotearoa, must be obtained before any reuse of this image
