The Overton Window: Changes In The Past 20 Years
How the Overton Window has changed, specifically in same sex marriage, and what it could mean for society today.
I’ll be completely honest, I had absolutely zero clue what I would end up writing today. Would I write something about sports, or perhaps give me take on Stranger Things, or just throw in a copy of one of my old papers or speeches from my Speech and Debate team and call it a day? But then I thought back to a conversation I had yesterday with my best friend (ironically in my car on the way back from work). The two of us talked about religion as it relates to politics (and later Bernie Sanders but that’s a different story), and how it all has changed over time. This conversation got me thinking, and I came to a conclusion. Politics has changed drastically over the past 20 years, along with the general beliefs of the public. This shift, as all shifts in belief in society are, is (in my view) important to understand. So, I will (from a hopefully unbiased perspective), try to explain this shift in the context of the Overton window.
Now, you may be asking, “Kenny, what the hell is the Overton window?”. Well never fear, for I shall explain it. The Overton window can best be described as this: where “In a given society, at a given moment, there is a range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream.” (Giridharadas). A better way to explain this would be an incredibly simplistic example regarding slavery. Currently, inside the Overton window, the mainstream idea is slavery is bad and should be outlawed (and is universally agreed upon by the Left and the Right). Outside of the window however, will be arguments that slavery should be widespread, but these aren’t mainstream which is why they are outside the Overton window. Why such a simplistic example? Because for this article I’m trying my best to not piss everyone off right off the bat if I call an idea “outside the mainstream”.
But now at least we all know what the Overton window is and can get on with our lives.
The interesting thing about politics in the past 20 years is how dramatically the Overton window has shifted, and how quietly it has seemed to do so. Now perhaps those in tune with politics may have noticed the shift, but the mainstream public largely hasn’t, probably because a lot of people see politics like a out of tune guitar, the most annoying thing in the world. But this shift is incredibly noticeable if you know what to look for, and there is no greater example in the world then same sex marriage.
In 2015, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision with Obergefell v. Hodges. The court ruled 5-4 that same sex marriages were protected by the constitution, and thus states (namely Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, who were involved in the case) must accept a same sex marriage the same way as if they would an opposite sex marriage, aka in the eyes of the law, a boy marrying a boy is the same as a boy marrying a girl. The majority opinion stated that, protected by the constitution "a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity." (Supreme Court). This is a right that still holds true to this day, and seems like it will for years to come.
So, what does this have to do with the Overton window and political changes? I shall explain. In 2015, 57% of Americans were in favor of same sex marriage, with 39% opposed (“Support for Same-Sex Marriage at Record High, but Key Segments Remain Opposed”). That poll was conducted a month before the decision of Obergefell v. Hodges. However, a Gallup poll from this year (2022) found that 71% of Americans are in support of same sex marriage (McCarthy). That is a 14 point swing in 7 years, equating to roughly 46.1 million people (though the number is just a ballpark, don’t call it fact). In fact this is a giant swing from public opinion in the late 90s (which I know, was more than 20 years ago), where Gallup reported support at 27% in 1996 (McCarthy). This alone shows a clear shift in the Overton window to a political mainstream more in support of same sex marriage, to the point where debate on it (while still there) is nearly nonexistent in the political mainstream, whereas 7 years ago it was a major point of debate.
I could go on and on with examples of the sort, relating from everywhere from things like Bernie Sanders Medicare for All plan to Donald Trumps plan to build a wall on our border with Mexico, but the thing to know is that the Overton window is constantly shifting (also, to be honest same sex marriage was the easiest to get data on). Especially as the Democrat Party (for better or for worse, that is your mind to make up) has been shifting ever more to the Left and towards progressive ideals. One last example can be seen with LGBT rights. According to Gallup, in 2002 just over 40% of Americans were in support of LGBT rights, but in 2022 that number is at 71% (Gallup, Inc.). That’s a 31 point shift in the last 20 years, further showing a shift in the Overton window in the past 20 years to more progressive ideals.
But this shift is not without consequence. People who help beliefs in the political mainstream 20 years ago are now considered to be on the fringe or as an extremists by the general political climate. Is this good or bad? That’s up for you to decide. The conversation with my friend as we drove home from work yesterday came to a simple conclusion: the general public is at a point of change in beliefs right now. This could be due to a lot of reasons, like the younger generation coming into the world making their voices heard, or people being persuaded by arguments on the other side of current beliefs. Could this all be a cause of the current climate of political division? Perhaps, but it is dangerous to call something so broad the cause of another broad situation. The current state of the ever shifting Overton window is not currently an issue, but instead a reality that people should be aware of and know about. Because at the end of the day, the more we know about our culture, political and otherwise, the better we can act as a society to be the best people we can be.
Apart from that, at its core the Overton window is made by the people. It is reflective of the general beliefs of a society. The Overton window is really just a political term used by political people (which really makes me question if I want to get into this) but there is more in this knowledge than just what the current window is. If we can examine how the Overton window has changed in the past 20 years, then we can also see how American society has changed in the past 20 years. That is the main purpose of this paper, to explain how the general views on things have changed over time, so we can better understand our society as a whole. I am not here to take a side, and if it appears so I apologize, because my goal here is to explain the trends I have seen.
So I leave you with this. The Overton window, specifically in LGBT rights but also in other aspects of society as well, has changed drastically in the past 20 years, hell even in the past decade. But this article is not the end of the story. Please, don’t just take my word on it. Look into other peoples writings on this topic, all across the political aisle. The current political climate is very nuanced, and one person simply cannot explain it in its full in a fair, unbiased, and comprehensive manner. So if you are interested in this topic, please do your own research on it, because, at the end of the day, we all benefit by knowing more about the world we live in.
Before I go, I would like to take a second and thank you for reading this. Your support means a lot to me. If you are new to my writings, please take a second and subscribe if you would like to see more (its free), I write about political stuff like this, along with sports, movies, music, and whatever I feel the need to write about. Works cited will be below if you are interested in where I got my information, along with a button to comment. Please, feel free to have a discussion about this topic, because discourse always breeds progress. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.
Works Cited
Gallup, Inc. “Gay and Lesbian Rights | Gallup Historical Trends.” Gallup.Com, 13 July 2022, news.gallup.com/poll/1651/gay-lesbian-rights.aspx.
Giridharadas, Anand. “How America’s Elites Lost Their Grip.” Time, 21 Nov. 2019, time.com/5735384/capitalism-reckoning-elitism-in-america-2019.
McCarthy, Justin. “Same-Sex Marriage Support Inches Up to New High of 71%.” Gallup.Com, 10 June 2022, news.gallup.com/poll/393197/same-sex-marriage-support-inches-new-high.aspx.
“Support for Same-Sex Marriage at Record High, but Key Segments Remain Opposed.” Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, 30 May 2020, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2015/06/08/support-for-same-sex-marriage-at-record-high-but-key-segments-remain-opposed.
Supreme Court, 14-556 Obergefell v. Hodges June 26, 2015 https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf
Damn, my mind is blowwnnnnnnnn
I think it goes without saying that it made for one incredibly interesting car-ride discussion lol!