Germany's Life Partnership Law through an Intersectional Lens: Emerging Attention to Lesbians' Concerns

In 2001 Germany passed a then-progressive Life Partnership Law (LPartG) allowing gays and lesbians to register their unions and gain certain (limited) rights. Since then the law has been revised multiple times, bringing Life Partnerships ever closer to marriage. This paper focuses on both the genesis and the amendment procedure of the LPartG through an intersectional lens, comparing the preferences of both lesbians and gay men and their ability to achive desired policy outcomes. Through careful process tracing and analysis of primary source documents including interest group manifestos, parliamentary transcripts, party platforms, and legal decisions, the Paper concludes that throughout the debate surrounding partnership rights gay mens' stress on monogamous partnerships and property rights were prioritized over lesbians' concerns surrounding parenting and care rights and social welfare benefits.