Despite the many challenges faced by people in a same-sex relationship, a study made by two students of the University of Queensland concluded that this kind of relationship is happier compared to the normal relationship we know as male to female bond.

Researchers Francisco Perales and Janeen Baxter said that the conclusion of their study is a strong counter-narrative to the usual thinking that same-sex relationships are conflictual, unhappy, and dysfunctional.

The conclusion of the study, which was published in the academic journal Family Relations, was derived after the researchers surveyed 25,000 people in the United Kingdom and 9,000 others in Australia.

According to the two, the collated data was sufficient enough to deduce that gay and lesbian couples are likely contented and happy with the kind of relationship they have. A report by Newshub said the researchers found out that gay and lesbian couples in the UK have a relationship quality as high as their straight counterparts, while in Australia it was higher than heterosexuals.

The researchers provided some possible explanations on why homosexual couples are happier than their heterosexual counterparts. For one, gay and lesbian couples might have a better relationship since they don’t care much about the stereotype of following gender roles of the society.

Perales and Baxter suggested that same-sex couples, especially lesbian women, are more equitable in the ways in which they allocate domestic work, including childcare, per Pink News.

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The authors argued that while male to female relationship is the norm, straight couples tend to reaffirm gender roles in the relationship, which could lead to an unfair labor division.

“Unequal household burdens are associated with poor relationship outcomes, including marital conflict and divorce. If gender display is not as salient in same-sex couples and these relationships are more egalitarian than heterosexual couples, higher levels of relationship quality might be expected.”

The conclusion of the study also said that same-sex couples have their own community where they can thrive and get help from. This, according to the authors, may increase the happiness of the homosexual partners because they can overcome the institutional barriers that they will face because they have a support group.

“Individuals in same-sex relationships may be more likely than those in different-sex relationships to have high relationship investment.”

According to Perales and Baxter, their findings support the movement to give equal rights to same-sex couples and disprove the current thinking that children of same-sex relationships would likely be not normal and would suffer.

“Our results provide robust evidence to combat deep-rooted and erroneous social perceptions of same-sex relationships being conflictual, unhappy, and dysfunctional. Our findings support policies that seek to legalize same-sex marriage and parenting rights.”

However, the two also suggested in their results that there is a need for attention to bisexual individuals as a distinct group because their outcomes are comparatively poor. The researchers, quoting a previous study, said that bisexual people are likely to be the most dissatisfied sector of the LGBTQ community since they feel less worthwhile, unhappy, and anxious.