It alters the public meaning of the word by further draining it of its power to reinforce traditional expectations of behavior” (Haslett 7). These traditional behavioral expectations derive from the title given to each individual participating in the marriage: husband and wife. Countless stories, religious sermons, Disney films and television commercials have reinforced this idea. But why? How did society come to put labels on something as complex as marriage? The terms husband and wife may have been appropriate more than sixty years ago, but not in today's society. Today, more and more people are living self-fulfilling lives. The common housewife is disappearing as more and more women enter the workforce. Regardless of gender, more and more married couples are behaving like partners and not like husband and wife. Same-sex couples are no exception. They may not behave like traditional husband and wife, but neither do their heterosexuals