I guess I never really thought about Facebook relationship statuses before.

While I was browsing for any possible news that was not budget or protest-related (a veritable news eclipse) I came across an article on PC World’s website that said Facebook added “civil union” and “domestic partnership” as a relationship status on Thursday.

Sure enough, I checked my Facebook and there are now 11 options for people to discuss their current romantic situation. However, the “bromance” status is still conspicuously absent from that list, as is its counterpart, the “homance.”

My first thoughts were, of course, “huzzah for gay rights and freedom of expression!” Because, whether we like it or not, Facebook and other forms of social media have become a defining feature of our generation and it is only right that every user – regardless of sexual orientation – can accurately portray themselves on their profile page.

“By acknowledging the relationships of countless loving and committed same-sex couples in the U.S. and abroad, Facebook has set a new standard of inclusion for social media,” said Jarrett
Barrios, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, in a statement. “As public support for marriage equality continues to grow, we will continue to work for the day when all couples have the opportunity to marry and have their relationship recognized by their community, both online and off.”

Facebook said in a statement the action stemmed from the work of GLADD and other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy groups in Facebook’s “Network of Support,” formed last October to help combat cyberbullying.

So yes, it’s refreshing to see Facebook take a political stance and fight the good fight. But on a moment’s reflection, I found myself asking just what the hell took them so long?

After initially catering to Harvard and then other universities for two years, Facebook expanded its membership to anyone over age 13 back in 2006. Then, in 2008 when everyone realized how awful MySpace is, Facebook exploded into new heights of popularity. Now, the company reports more than 500 million people sign on – from some really young kids at your high school you’ve never met but still friend you, to the grandparents for which you have to censor some of your content.

So in all the years Facebook has been a dominant presence in millions of lives, people in same-sex relationships did not log on? Hardly. The delay may have something to do with the political realm.

Same-sex marriage has long been a controversial issue in our society. Technically, the federal government does not recognize legality of same-sex marriages, thanks to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.

However, individual states have been battling this law in court by claiming it violates the 10th Amendment – overstepping the power of individual states and their people. Massachusetts was the first state to rail against the law in 2004, and thus far has been joined by Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa and the District of Columbia.

Here in Wisconsin, a 2006 constitutional referendum banned same-sex marriage by a margin of 59-46. The issue was taken to the state Supreme Court, with opponents citing an improper phrasing on the ballot, but the court upheld the ban in its ruling last July.

However, a glimmer of hope for gay rights activists came in 2009 when former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle proposed legalizing domestic partnership benefits in his budget. Thus far, those benefits have remained intact, but Republican Gov. Scott Walker alluded to his feelings about them on the campaign trail.

“I think they’re a violation of the (state) Constitution, and I think there’s a legal case to be made,” Walker said said after a debate last October.

And we’ve seen just how much carte blanche Walker has with his agenda for the state, so this is definitely an issue to keep an eye on.

Needless to say, the issues of same-sex marriage and civil unions are still mired in a lot of antiquated prejudice, ignorance and “sanctity of tradition” arguments, and it will likely take years before critics catch up with the times and come to their senses.

At least on Facebook, if not yet legally in their daily lives, people in committed same-sex relationships are allowed to be who they really are.

Alicia Yager ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and French.