Linda Hirshman notes that "conservatives defended heterosexual marriage inequality on the grounds that women were naturally suited only for certain kinds of lives." She believes that marriage equality will further erode that notion:
As the arguments for heterosexual marriage inequality were used to fight same-sex marriage, so the success of same-sex marriage is a living refutation of the argument that marriage requires congenital natural inequality with women on the bottom. Even the campaign for same-sex marriage, consisting of a torrent of moving stories about the happy same-sex couples who want to get married, is a feminist windfall. Maybe marital equality and happiness aren't so incompatible after all.
The very fact that two women can marry alters the perspective of women in a heterosexual marriage. Marriage equality is an advance for feminism too.
The Dish 