Welcome to Breaking Down Patriarchy. I'm Amy McPhee Allabest.

Today we are presenting a four-part series on patriarchy and the LGBTQ community,

with the crux being the Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015,

which granted same-sex couples the right to marry and effectively overruled states' rights to prohibit same-sex marriage.

My guest is my dear friend and classmate in Stanford's Masters of Liberal Arts program, Matthew Nelson.

Hi, Matthew.

Hi, from Oakland, Amy.

I am so deeply honored to be on this journey with you, Matthew. Thank you so much for being

here. And there's no one I trust more with the map compass and provisions for this journey than you

Amy. So thank you for having me here. Thank you. This week's episodes will be a bit different

from our prior discussions on the podcast. First, we are devoting an entire episode to our personal stories on this topic, which we wrote in the form of personal essays and we'll share today. And this will be part one of the series. On our second episode, Matthew, who is a master teacher of history,

will explain the historical context and the details of our essential text, Obergefell v. Hodges.

And then on the third and fourth episodes, we will take the Supreme Court case as a point of

departure to discuss some critical questions and issues

within queer theory. So with that map, let's begin. I will share my story first, and then

Matthew, you share yours. My story begins with a quote from the book, Fear and Trembling by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard.

In this passage, Kierkegaard is talking about the faith of the biblical prophet Abraham.

A harder test was reserved for him, and Isaac's fate was placed along with the, in Abraham's hand. And there he stood,

the old man with his solitary hope. But he did not doubt. He did not look in anguish to the left

and to the right. He did not challenge heaven with his prayers. He knew it was God the Almighty

who was testing him. He knew it was the hardest sacrifice that could be demanded of him.

But he knew also that no sacrifice is too severe when God demands it.

...