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1. Your score out of 27

I got a 23/39.

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

This is going to come off as ignorant, but I really did forget that Ireland was a separate place from the United Kingdom. It surprised me to see Ireland on the chart. Also I found it surprising it was 5 years earlier than the United Kingdom.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

This might be a generic response, but I found it very interesting that the Netherlands was the first country chronologically. Same-sex marriage was made legal the same year I was born. I grew up remembering how activists were trying to get same-sex marriage legal in the United States. I thought it was a current trend around the world in the 2010s. I never really investigated it. So it was interesting to see that it had occurred in my birth year.

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1. Your score out of 27.

My score: 23/39

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

A surprising country to find missing from the list is South Korea. This is surprising because South Korea is a highly developed and modern country, known globally for its technology, entertainment, and strong economy. For a country that exports so much modern culture to the rest of the world to not have modern social laws was surprising to learn. When compared to other developed nations of similar wealth and influence, it feels like it should be on the list, which makes its absence unexpected given how globally progressive its image is.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

A chronologically surprising country to me is Spain, which legalized same-sex marriage in 2005, just four years after the Netherlands. This is surprising because Spain is a deeply Catholic country and the Catholic Church strongly opposes same-sex marriage. For a country where religion plays such a big role in its culture and politics to legalize same-sex marriage faster than many more socially liberal countries was surprising to learn. This makes Spain one of the earliest adopters in the world, which is unexpected given its strong religious identity.

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1. My score

29/39

2. One Country that surprised me:

One Country that surprised me was Nepal being on the list. I didn't expect it because many countries in Asia have not legalized same-sex marriage yet. It stood out to me since countries like Japan and South Korea which are often seen as more economically developed still don't recognize nationwide. It made me realize that progress on social issues doesn't always follow economic development or Western influences.

3. One country that surprised me on timing:

I was surprised by how early South Africa legalized same sex marriage in 2006. Compared to many countries with similar or even stronger economies, it was a very early adopter. What stood out to me is that it's still the only country in Africa to have legalized nationwide. This shows how constitutional rights and court decisions can sometimes push social changes faster than public opinion or regional trends.

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1. My score was 23/39.

2. It was surprising to see that Italy was not on the list as they are close other nations such as France that are for same sex marriage. It also surprised me as they are a country that celebrates the arts and fashion, which usually goes hand in hand with supporting more progressive and liberal movements including the LGBTQ+ community.

3. It didn't surprise me that the United Kingdom was on the list, but I was surprised that they only legalized same sex marriage in 2020, considering their ties to Canada and the United States. It's quite interesting to think about how Canada and the United States became nations through the UK, but have since have examples such as legalizing same sex marriage as a way that they branched out and made their own regulations, laws and public policy.

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1. Your score

27/39

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

I was surprised to find Tawain and Nepal on the list, as the majority of countries in Asia have not legalized same-sex marriage, including liberal democracies such as Japan and South Korea.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

I was surprised Liechtenstein only legalized it in 2025, since its neighbours in Western Europe had legalized it years earlier. I was also surprised the UK only legalized it in 2020 which I had thought they would have done so much earlier because of its similarity to Canada and the US.

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2. I was surprised that Italy was not on the list seeing as that there were many other big European countries on the list such as Greece, Germany, the UK, Spain, and France. As these countries are all in very close proximity, and would have very similar social structures.

3. I was surprised how late the United Kingdom was to legalize same sex marriage, compared some of the other European countries that had changed their laws several years prior.

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1. Your score out of 27.

26/39

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

A country that I was surprised not to see was Italy, though I can't say I am fully aware of the cultural and political landscape. From the little I do know about Italy, I knew it could be a religious nation, however I had always heard it was a very friendly and welcoming country so to see it still has not recognized same-sex marriage is quite shocking, especially when a majority of it's so-called "like minded" allies have.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

There were a couple countries that surprised me with their chronological placements. First was the United Kingdom with their recognition of same-sex marriage coming in only 2020. Considering several of its allied nations like Canada and France recognized it much earlier. Belonging to the same commonwealth and being as closely tied in terms of culture and economics as Canada and the U.K. are, I would have assumed they progressed at similar speeds. Finland's later recognition in 2017 also came as a surprise considering many of it's Nordic neighbors embraced it much sooner. From what I know of those nations is that they are very closely tied and generally very progressive, so I am curious to know why Finland took longer.

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1. My score for this quiz was 28/29.

2. One country that suprised me was Cuba because they are a communist country, so many---including myself---would assume that they would be much more socially conservative.

3. I was fairly surpised by irelands chronological placement. As they are a traditional country with strong ties to Catholicism, I would assume they would have more conservative social values, but they adopted same-sex marriage rather early on the list (2015).

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1.     Your score out of 39.

19/39.

2.     One country that surprised you - were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

I was surprised to see Taiwan on the list of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage. I did not expect it to be one of the first places in Asia to do so, especially given that many countries in the region tend to have more conservative views on LGBTQ rights. In contrast to places where there is strong resistance or even state opposition, Taiwan’s decision reflects a more progressive approach to human rights and equality.

3.     One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement - was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

One country that surprised me based on its chronological placement is United States, as it was a relatively late adopter of same-sex marriage. Given its strong emphasis on human rights, I expected it to legalize same-sex marriage earlier, similar to Canada. However, it was only legalized nationwide in 2015, largely due to political divisions, federalism, and religious influences. This shows that even countries with similar values can have different policy timelines because of their unique political systems and social contexts.

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1. Your score out of 27.

15 out of 39

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

What surprised me was that Italy is not on the list, as they still have not legalized same-sex marriage. I was also surprised that Nepal, Taiwan and Thailand legalized it as Japan and China haven’t yet. Those two countries seem to be leaders in Asia in terms of LGBTQ+ laws. I was surprised that the United Kingdom only legalized same-sex marriage in 2020, which seems late when compares to Canada, a Commonwealth country, legalized it in 2005. I was surprised to see South Africa adopting it so early, as the rate of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people is still quite high.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

I was surprised that Switzerland only adopted legalization in 2022. That country seems to have values that would have made that adoption an earlier phenomenon, or would have been a leader in urging other countries to legalize it. What didn’t surprise me is that the Netherlands was the first country to legalize it, as they are leaders in human rights and overall respect and inclusion of people.

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What was most shocking was my inability to list countries, by the end I was throwing out African countries that I knew wouldn't be on the list but I didn't want to sit and think without putting answers in. Though maybe if I thought about it I would have gotten to the UK.

2. Italy did shock me, but I know their hyper religious culture and national identity has played a big part in not legalizing gay marriage. I think offering civil unions only for gay people is even more a slap in the face. I know France offers civil unions for everyone as well as same sex marriage whereas Italy is just using it as a way to refuse to marry homosexual couples. In that way alone I think it adds to the denigration of being forced into a civil union rather than a marriage.

3. Thailand shocked me how low it was placed, based on what I know of their culture and from friends who have visited or are from Thailand. In this way it is the inverse shock of South Africa, whose culture seems to be behind their legislation. Though Thailand is still an early adopter in other similar countries, like Vietnam and the Philippines that have yet to legalize it.

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1. Your score out of 39

My score was 16/39. This shows I need to work on my geography and politics more.

2. One country that surprised you – were you surprised to find it on the list, or not to find it on the list?

One country that surprised me was Taiwan since they are so close to China, even though there is conflict between the two I thought they might hold similar views culturally. This point of view is also coming from someone who has never been to Taiwan or China. I also need to learn more about the specific cultural and political aspects of both countries. I did enter China in to see if they were on the list just out of curiosity, but they were not on the list. It shows how people living so close together can have different views regarding politics and culture.

I was also surprised Italy was not on the list. There are lots of other European countries on the list so I thought it would be on the list for sure. Again I have not been to Italy therefore I do not have much to go off of culture and politics wise. I feel like I should have known this but I never heard that Italy did not accept same sex marriage.

3. One country that surprised you due to its chronological placement – was it a very early adopter, or late adopter, compared to other nations that you might consider to have similar values?

I was surprised that Greece only accepted same sex marriage in 2024, since lot of the other European countries have made it legal. Now that I know Italy does not accept it yet, I am not as surprised Greece was so late to adopt it. This also comes from a generalization that Italy and Greece are similar, which of course they have distinct politics and culture as well. This test revealed that I need to learn more about other countries policies and culture.

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I assumed that most Asian countries tend to be conservative in their approach to marriage, which is mostly true. That being said, I was surprised that India was not on this list. I feel like Indian culture is non imposing in that regard and are gradually becoming progressive. However, I can't say I know enough about Indian politics to have any legitimate input.

Alongside my bias towards Asian countries, I was surprised to see Naepal on this list, as I associate Nepal with extremely conservative and traditional behavior.